Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 45,245 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 204,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 45,245 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.36% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $16,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSM. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 405.6% in the second quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 5,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 4,068 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 24.6% during the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 30,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,432,000 after buying an additional 6,049 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 157.4% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,909,000 after purchasing an additional 30,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 3,419 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Loop Capital cut their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Six investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total value of $413,271.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,086.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 18.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $79.48 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.05 and a 52 week high of $105.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.45 and a 200 day moving average of $87.45. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 0.86.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.47%.

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.