MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Purchased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 6,864 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $2,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at $12,170,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $11,373,000 after buying an additional 135,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,859,000 after buying an additional 113,878 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Stephens cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE:MSM 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. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.09. 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 issued 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 analyst estimates of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

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.