MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 61.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,841 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,764 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 27,642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 18.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 2.1%

MSM opened at $81.56 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.10 and a 12 month high of $92.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The firm had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

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.