Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 16.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,123 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $2,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter valued at $16,571,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 154,454 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% in the second 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. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,493,000 after purchasing an additional 98,265 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $85.41 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $83.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.11. The company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.05 and a 12 month high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 74.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct 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 sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.