138,529 MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Sold by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 37.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 235,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 138,529 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned about 0.42% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $29,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSM. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,400,000. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 113.7% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 5,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 15,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Finally, Parcion Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at about $224,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM stock opened at $110.67 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.80 and a 12 month high of $133.95. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.86.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 5.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 87.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Reuben E. Slone bought 433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $115.77 per share, for a total transaction of $50,128.41. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,128.41. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $115.94 per share, for a total transaction of $28,985,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,578,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,915,580.48. This trade represents a 10.74% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Stephens upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson set a $155.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.22.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc is a distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves industrial and institutional customers with products used in machining, manufacturing, facility maintenance and workplace safety.

Its offerings include cutting tools, abrasives, tooling and workholding equipment, machinery, safety products, material-handling supplies, janitorial and facility-maintenance products, and other industrial consumables. MSC also provides technical support, inventory-management programs, vending and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage procurement and production-related needs.

Founded in 1941, MSC serves customers primarily across the United States and Canada through sales representatives, customer service teams, catalogs, distribution operations and digital commerce platforms.