State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $1.74 Million Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,898 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSM. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,476,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 765,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,718,000 after purchasing an additional 84,967 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter worth $56,088,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 288,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,849,000 after buying an additional 44,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 255,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,272,000 after acquiring an additional 3,709 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $413,271.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,086.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 18.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $86.05 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.86. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $105.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Baird R W lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, June 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.