Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $3.03 Million Investment in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 38,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,030,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.07% of MSC Industrial Direct at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,467,000 after purchasing an additional 61,022 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 2,117 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 174,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,569,000 after buying an additional 17,506 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 83,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,612,000 after buying an additional 1,887 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $216,772,000 after buying an additional 1,256,706 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,086.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MSM. StockNews.com downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 8th. Baird R W downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. KeyCorp downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $81.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.52 and a 200-day moving average of $87.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.05 and a 52 week high of $105.77.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 64.47%.

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.