Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (NYSE:MSM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 504,786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,612,000. MSC Industrial Direct accounts for approximately 1.9% of Copeland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned 0.91% of MSC Industrial Direct as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 22.6% during the second quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth $52,364,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth $302,000. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.3% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. now owns 352,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,185,000 after acquiring an additional 7,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paradice Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 23.7% in the second quarter. Paradice Investment Management LLC now owns 724,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,826,000 after acquiring an additional 138,639 shares in the last quarter. 76.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens set a $76.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Co set a $60.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Buckingham Research decreased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, ValuEngine raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.20.
In other news, CFO Rustom Jilla sold 7,907 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.51, for a total value of $597,057.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 27.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
NYSE MSM traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $71.18. 284,230 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 438,711. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.15 and a 200 day moving average of $71.67. MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc has a 12-month low of $64.59 and a 12-month high of $86.87. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.92.
MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $842.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $837.97 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.71%.
MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile
MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The company’s MRO products comprise 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.
Featured Article: How Important is Technical Analysis of Stocks
Receive News & Ratings for MSC Industrial Direct Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for MSC Industrial Direct and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.
