Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 45.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,249 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 24,963 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.05% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $2,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% during 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.4% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.7% during the 2nd 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 during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction 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 $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.4 %

MSM stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $83.35. 498,119 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 578,683. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 0.89. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $83.76 and a 200-day moving average of $82.77. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.05 and a 52-week high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $959.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $85.20.

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.