NewSquare Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,166 shares during the quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC owned 0.15% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $8,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,817,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,790,000 after acquiring an additional 197,193 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,080,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,032,000 after acquiring an additional 52,633 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 769,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,566,000 after acquiring an additional 125,944 shares during the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 719,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,659,000 after acquiring an additional 10,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 605,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,307,000 after buying an additional 113,068 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 137,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.66, for a total transaction of $13,449,344.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,708,311 shares in the company, valued at $166,833,652.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 180,963 shares of company stock worth $17,712,711 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.26. The stock had a trading volume of 413,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,854. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.14 and a 12 month high of $105.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $97.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 22.58% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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 5.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.61%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.