Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys 1,132 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned approximately 0.13% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $6,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSM. Stephens downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $83.31 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.51. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19 and a beta of 0.89.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The company’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. On average, analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

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.