JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reduces Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 251,258 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,388 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.45% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $18,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,418,260 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,310,000 after acquiring an additional 193,860 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 424,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,701,000 after purchasing an additional 183,343 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 618,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,166,000 after acquiring an additional 105,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,434,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $107,168,000 after purchasing an additional 96,335 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSM. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM traded down $1.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.63. 232,361 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 668,460. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $94.31. The company's 50 day moving average price is $78.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.73.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. Sell-side 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.