Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 19,408 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 155,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,408 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $11,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,469,000 after purchasing an additional 126,218 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 793,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,243,000 after purchasing an additional 70,076 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 641,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,232,000 after purchasing an additional 35,077 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 618,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,166,000 after purchasing an additional 105,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 424,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,701,000 after purchasing an additional 183,343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $77.46 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.79 and a 1 year high of $100.35. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.35 and a 200 day moving average of $81.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $928.50 million during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Stephens cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.80.

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.