MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 67.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,702 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.1% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,764,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $162,605,000 after buying an additional 36,626 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.2% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,322,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $121,842,000 after buying an additional 15,765 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,246,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $114,867,000 after purchasing an additional 19,267 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.2% during the third quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,014,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $93,490,000 after purchasing an additional 11,912 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 511,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.50.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $95.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59 and a beta of 0.79. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.30 and a 12-month high of $96.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $92.08 and its 200-day moving average is $88.42.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $917.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.69 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 93.55%.

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.