Willis Investment Counsel Grows Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Willis Investment Counsel grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 89,451 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $6,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSM. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth $360,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 13.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth $361,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSM shares. Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $80.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.79 and a 52 week high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 81.15%.

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.