MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Acquired by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 121.1% in the third quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 892.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the 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 owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens lowered shares of 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 note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM stock opened at $80.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.79 and a twelve month high of $104.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.10.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.15%.

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.