Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 2,299 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 62,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,299 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $4,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 54,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,044,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Stephens downgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $77.46 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.79 and a 1 year high of $100.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49 and a beta of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.