Rockland Trust Co. Has $1.26 Million Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 50.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,674 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at approximately $12,170,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,373,000 after buying an additional 135,500 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% during 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. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,493,000 after acquiring an additional 98,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,023,000 after acquiring an additional 91,369 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens downgraded 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM opened at $82.04 on Wednesday. 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 50-day moving average of $82.11 and a 200 day moving average of $81.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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.