Martin Capital Partners LLC Sells 50,599 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Martin Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 94.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50,599 shares during the period. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,493,000 after purchasing an additional 98,265 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at $360,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth about $361,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $80.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.84 and a 200 day moving average of $82.10. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.79 and a 52-week high of $104.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.