River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 28,208 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

River Road Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 28,208 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 0.22% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $9,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSM. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 2.4 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $78.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.79 and a 12 month high of $100.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., 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 was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.80.

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.