Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 47,804 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 47,804 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $8,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 15.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 183.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 14,451 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 580.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 261.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter worth approximately $320,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $82.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.36. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $952.30 million for 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 quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.20.

Insider Activity

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

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.