Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,724 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $7,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSM. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.8% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at approximately $455,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at approximately $816,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $106.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $96.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.52 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.78 and a 1 year high of $108.77.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $917.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.69 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 5.42%.The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 93.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. iA Financial set a $95.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, KeyCorp raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $117.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.29.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.