Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 about 0.19% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $8,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:MSM opened at $73.09 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.79 and a 12-month high of $104.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.95.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. This trade represents 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.

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.