Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $25.95 Million Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 50.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 267,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 277,082 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.48% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $25,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,817,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,790,000 after acquiring an additional 197,193 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 829,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,024,000 after buying an additional 32,312 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,476,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 605,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,307,000 after buying an additional 113,068 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,088,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, June 14th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:MSM traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.35. 825,757 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 553,186. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.05 and a fifty-two week high of $105.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 0.88.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.33. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The business had revenue of $979.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $979.10 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total value of $413,271.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,086.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 18.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.