Value Holdings Management CO. LLC Reduces Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Value Holdings Management CO. LLC reduced its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. MSC Industrial Direct comprises about 1.3% of Value Holdings Management CO. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Value Holdings Management CO. LLC owned about 0.17% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $7,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 worth $74,467,000 after acquiring an additional 61,022 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised 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 worth $11,373,000 after purchasing an additional 135,500 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 10.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 8,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM traded up $0.55 on Friday, reaching $81.87. 1,061,743 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 690,009. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.79 and a 12 month high of $104.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued 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 firm 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 firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSM. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven investment 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

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.