Philip Peller Acquires 6,666 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Stock

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Director Philip Peller acquired 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $90.14 per share, for a total transaction of $600,873.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,665.18. This trade represents a 232.18% 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 link.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $85.02 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88 and a beta of 0.98. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $94.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $88.58 and its 200-day moving average is $86.33.

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. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wolfe Research downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 23.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,801,000 after purchasing an additional 21,752 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth about $251,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 70,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,504,000 after buying an additional 5,644 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 267.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 87,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,402,000 after buying an additional 63,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2,694.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 4,958 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.