State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 640 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 2.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 23,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSM. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 47.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth about $897,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.5% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,078 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE MSM opened at $84.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $94.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.68 and a 200-day moving average of $85.29. The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 0.95.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.06. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The company had revenue of $978.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stephens boosted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

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.