MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Stock Holdings Increased by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 8,289.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 16,828 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSM has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $87.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.05 and a 1-year high of $104.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.08.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The company had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 74.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.