Clifford Capital Partners LLC Buys New Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Clifford Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,467,000 after acquiring an additional 61,022 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,476,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 765,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,718,000 after acquiring an additional 84,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.9% in the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 606,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,118,000 after purchasing an additional 11,257 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $413,271.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,086.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, June 14th. KeyCorp lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE MSM opened at $84.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.07. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.05 and a 1-year high of $105.77.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.33. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The firm had revenue of $979.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $979.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products and services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's MRO products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking products, fasteners, flat stock products, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies.