Martin Capital Partners LLC Sells 50,599 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Martin Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 94.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50,599 shares during the quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,493,000 after purchasing an additional 98,265 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter worth about $360,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 13.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $361,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens cut 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $80.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.79 and a 52-week high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $80.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.10.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

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.