Erik Gershwind Sells 50,000 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Stock

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM opened at $87.48 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $82.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.05 and a 12-month high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 72.49%.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at about $16,571,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% in the second 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 last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $11,373,000 after purchasing an additional 135,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,859,000 after acquiring an additional 113,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.