Virtu Financial LLC Takes $347,000 Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 4,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSM. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MSM opened at $79.84 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $72.79 and a one year high of $100.35.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MSM. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

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.