MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Director Philip Peller Sells 900 Shares

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) 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 sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MSM traded down $1.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $83.56. 106,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 579,332. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $82.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.59. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.05 and a 12-month high of $104.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter valued at $16,571,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 154,454 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,170,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% 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.