Ceera Investments LLC Has $1.07 Million Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Ceera Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 30.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,342 shares during the quarter. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,469,000 after purchasing an additional 126,218 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,023,000 after buying an additional 91,369 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 793,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,243,000 after buying an additional 70,076 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 641,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,232,000 after buying an additional 35,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 618,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,166,000 after buying an additional 105,265 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Stephens cut 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 2.7 %

MSM opened at $82.33 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.79 and a twelve month high of $100.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.72. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65 and a beta of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., 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 was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.15%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.