Altrius Capital Management Inc Boosts Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 54,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $4,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at $920,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 793,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,243,000 after buying an additional 70,076 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at $215,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 144,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,777,000 after acquiring an additional 41,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of MSM stock opened at $79.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $80.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.75. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.79 and a 1-year high of $104.76.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MSM shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

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.