Mackenzie Financial Corp Grows Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 62.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,451 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth about $77,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter worth about $93,000. USA Financial Formulas boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 5,345.0% in the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, April 1st. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 24,501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.31, for a total value of $2,433,194.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,683,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,219,171.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM stock opened at $93.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.80. 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 12-month low of $88.61 and a 12-month high of $105.77.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.55 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were issued 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 was Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.61%.

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.