Analysts Set MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Target Price at $90.20

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $90.20.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $89.60 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $82.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.55. MSC Industrial Direct has a one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.65 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.49%.

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.