MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Purchased by Synergy Asset Management LLC

Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 100.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,318 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $4,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth $1,352,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter valued at about $39,950,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 250,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,289,000 after acquiring an additional 14,107 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,743,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,232,000 after acquiring an additional 92,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 283,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,067,000 after purchasing an additional 35,503 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.50.

Insider Activity

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller bought 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $90.14 per share, with a total value of $600,873.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,537 shares in the company, valued at $859,665.18. The trade was a 232.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 22,870 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $84.96 per share, with a total value of $1,943,035.20. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,328,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $197,803,192.32. The trade was a 0.99% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 211,342 shares of company stock valued at $17,951,965 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 2.1%

MSM opened at $85.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $86.06 and its 200-day moving average is $87.57. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week high of $94.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11 and a beta of 0.85.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $978.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.03 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.75%.

MSC Industrial Direct Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.