Seizert Capital Partners LLC Raises Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 3.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 361,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,585 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $31,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter worth about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MSM. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 2.8 %

MSM stock opened at $83.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.05 and a 52 week high of $104.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.07 and a 200 day moving average of $83.47.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.24%.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.