KBC Group NV Boosts Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 26.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake 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 valued at $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 14,451 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 261.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Natixis acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at about $320,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 730.1% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % 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 Trading Up 3.9 %

NYSE MSM opened at $84.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.27. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted 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 analyst estimates 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 revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSM. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.