Quantinno Capital Management LP Sells 97,233 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Quantinno Capital Management LP lowered its position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 17.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 461,835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 97,233 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $42,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSM. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 12,181.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,254,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $273,718,000 after buying an additional 3,228,170 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,796,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,070,000 after acquiring an additional 187,440 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,773,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $163,607,000 after acquiring an additional 306,436 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,764,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $162,605,000 after acquiring an additional 36,626 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,357,419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $125,240,000 after acquiring an additional 14,484 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $121.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.55. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.80 and a 52-week high of $128.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $102.44. The firm has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33 and a beta of 0.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.15. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.34% and a net margin of 5.91%.The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, July 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.