KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $680,000 Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,418,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $255,310,000 after purchasing an additional 193,860 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,469,000 after buying an additional 126,218 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,434,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,168,000 after buying an additional 96,335 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 793,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,243,000 after acquiring an additional 70,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.8% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 641,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,232,000 after acquiring an additional 35,077 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Stephens cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.0 %

MSM opened at $77.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $96.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 81.15%.

MSC Industrial Direct Profile

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.