MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 11.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 151,913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,182 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.27% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $12,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,476,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth about $56,088,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth about $775,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 183.6% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 14,451 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth about $16,571,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MSM shares. Loop Capital cut their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 8th. Baird R W downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total value of $413,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,091,086.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:MSM opened at $78.20 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.05 and a 52-week high of $105.77.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 7.44%. The company had revenue of $979.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $979.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 64.47%.

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.