Brokerages Set MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Price Target at $83.80

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.80.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens lowered 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business'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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 105,265 shares in the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 89,451 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,708 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 5,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2,976.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 44,703 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,339,000 after purchasing an additional 43,250 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.6 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $82.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 479,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 953,426. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.05. The company has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81 and a beta of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. 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 (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $904.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 81.15%.

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.