Amalgamated Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Amalgamated Bank cut its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 26.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,005 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,666 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 1.4 %

MSM traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.48. 706,617 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 581,991. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. The company's fifty day moving average price is $82.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.58. The company has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.87.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $952.30 million for 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. 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 3.89%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 72.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.