Brokerages Set MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) PT at $85.20

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.20.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $78.47 on Monday. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1 year low of $72.79 and a 1 year high of $104.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $82.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.91.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSM. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,170,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,373,000 after purchasing an additional 135,500 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,859,000 after purchasing an additional 113,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% during the second 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. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.