State Street Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,390,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,269 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned 2.49% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $119,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSM. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MSM. Stephens downgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.20.

Insider Transactions 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $83.31 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.05 and a 12-month high of $104.76. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.48.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 74.24%.

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.