MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Stock Holdings Lifted by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 8,289.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 16,828 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth about $16,571,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 154,454 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted 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 worth $11,373,000 after purchasing an additional 135,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $9,493,000 after purchasing an additional 98,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.20.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $87.15 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $104.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.08.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The company had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS 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. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.24%.

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.