JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 35,289 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 15.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 258,646 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 35,289 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.46% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $22,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSM. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $216,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $134,859,000 after purchasing an additional 113,878 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $74,467,000 after purchasing an additional 61,022 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $79,023,000 after purchasing an additional 91,369 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.8% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 641,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,232,000 after buying an additional 35,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM traded up $2.89 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $82.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,042,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,256,103. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $82.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.81. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $904.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.20.

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.