BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 5,563 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 43.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 18,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,563 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8,289.7% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after buying an additional 16,828 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 23,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,706 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,101,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 892.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM stock opened at $83.13 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.62 and a 200 day moving average of $82.59. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.05 and a 52 week high of $104.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.20.

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.