Boston Trust Walden Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 618,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 105,265 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 1.11% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $46,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8,289.7% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,466,000 after buying an additional 16,828 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,864 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.4% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 23,114 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,989,000 after buying an additional 6,172 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 398.1% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,860 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 12,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 892.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSM. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM stock traded up $0.26 on Thursday, reaching $80.83. 516,593 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 769,937. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.79 and a 1 year high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $80.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.09. The company has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. MSC Industrial Direct's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is presently 81.15%.

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.