Farther Finance Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 892.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $60,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSM. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 1.4 %

MSM opened at $87.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $104.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.87.

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). MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The firm had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.49%.

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.