Jane Street Group LLC Sells 10,952 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Jane Street Group LLC decreased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 34.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,952 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 765,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,718,000 after acquiring an additional 84,967 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 154,454 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after buying an additional 3,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 157.4% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,909,000 after buying an additional 30,134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM stock opened at $76.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.05 and a 1-year high of $104.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $82.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.09. The company has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75 and a beta of 0.89.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MSM. Stephens downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Finally, 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.20.

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.