Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (MSM) Anymore

We at Insider Monkey have gone over 700 13F filings that hedge funds and prominent investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F filings show the funds’ and investors’ portfolio positions as of September 30. In this article we look at what those investors think of MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (NYSE:MSM).

MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (NYSE:MSM) has seen a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money lately. MSM was in 21 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 26 hedge funds in our database with MSM holdings at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare MSM to other stocks including DCT Industrial Trust Inc. (NYSE:DCT), Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:CCU), and PTC Inc (NASDAQ:PTC) to get a better sense of its popularity.

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What does the smart money think about MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (NYSE:MSM)?

Heading into the fourth quarter of 2016, a total of 21 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a drop of 19% from one quarter earlier. Hedge fund ownership in MSM has been volatile over the past year, dipping to as few as 17 hedge fund shareholders at one point before rising more than 50% to 26 two quarters later. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Select Equity Group, managed by Robert Joseph Caruso, holds the most valuable position in MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (NYSE:MSM). Select Equity Group has a $126.5 million position in the stock, comprising 1.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Cantillon Capital Management, led by William von Mueffling, holding a $112 million position; 1.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other professional money managers with similar optimism encompass Allan Mecham and Ben Raybould’s Arlington Value Capital, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies and Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management.