Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New $1.29 Million Investment in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 14,984 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,290,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six 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 currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of MSM traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $85.01. The company had a trading volume of 489,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,569. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.05 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.86. The stock has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Insider Activity

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.80% of the company's stock.

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.