MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Stock Holdings Increased by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $83,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% in the third 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 buying an additional 113,878 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,467,000 after buying an additional 61,022 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,023,000 after acquiring an additional 91,369 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 12.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 765,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,718,000 after acquiring an additional 84,967 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.2 %

MSM stock opened at $83.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19 and a beta of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.05 and a 52-week high of $104.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.46.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results 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). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 74.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. Finally, Stephens downgraded 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.