Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Sells 31,350 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC decreased its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 197,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 31,350 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $14,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of MSM stock opened at $75.93 on Thursday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.10 and a 12-month high of $94.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.19 and a 200-day moving average of $80.67. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 0.89. 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 (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

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.