4,260 Shares in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Acquired by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 4,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,772,000 after buying an additional 154,454 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,373,000 after buying an additional 135,500 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,859,000 after acquiring an additional 113,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,493,000 after acquiring an additional 98,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM opened at $85.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.86. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

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.