MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.85

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 25th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of 0.85 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%.

MSC Industrial Direct has a payout ratio of 87.0% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities analysts expect MSC Industrial Direct to earn $4.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 84.0%.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $82.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $90.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64 and a beta of 0.87.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The company’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. This represents a 1.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth about $229,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $455,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

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.