WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Sells 809 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC cut its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 121,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 809 shares during the quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $9,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $12,170,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,859,000 after acquiring an additional 113,878 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 618,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,166,000 after buying an additional 105,265 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,023,000 after purchasing an additional 91,369 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 367.3% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 71,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,179,000 after acquiring an additional 56,430 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSM has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 objective on the stock. 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE MSM opened at $81.42 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 81.15%.

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.