MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Receives $85.20 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $85.20.

A number of analysts have recently commented on MSM shares. Stephens lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% during the second 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE:MSM traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $83.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 498,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,683. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.77. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $75.05 and a twelve month high of $104.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 0.89. 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 (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is currently 74.24%.

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.