Creative Planning Acquires 878 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Creative Planning boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 28.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 9.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after buying an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after buying an additional 3,788 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,129 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 2,622 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 130,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,627,000 after buying an additional 8,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 81,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,907,000 after buying an additional 6,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MSM. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on 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. Six 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $88.99 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $82.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 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 analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 72.49%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.