Bleakley Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth $361,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 363.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 3,136 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% in 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. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 18,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,549,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 87,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $80.21 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $80.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.05. 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 has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.79 and a 1 year high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.15%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.