MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Acquired by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $35,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.7% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird upped 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM opened at $87.15 on Tuesday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.05 and a twelve month high of $104.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.08.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

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.