Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 214 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. reduced its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $216,772,000 after buying an additional 1,256,706 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at $16,571,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% in the 2nd 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% during 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 period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $9,493,000 after purchasing an additional 98,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSM. Robert W. Baird raised 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. 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. Six equities 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, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE MSM opened at $82.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.36. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.05 and a 52-week high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.24%.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct 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 directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.