Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 41,058 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 20.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41,058 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.29% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $14,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 15.1% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 183.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 14,451 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 261.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Natixis bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter worth $320,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 730.1% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 825 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:MSM opened at $80.62 on Wednesday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.05 and a 52 week high of $104.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $83.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 74.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSM has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.20.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.