MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Position Trimmed by New South Capital Management Inc.

New South Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 715,081 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,641 shares during the quarter. MSC Industrial Direct makes up 2.5% of New South Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. New South Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.28% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $61,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,467,000 after acquiring an additional 61,022 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 765,578 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $60,718,000 after acquiring an additional 84,967 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.9% during the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 606,702 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,118,000 after acquiring an additional 11,257 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 18.1% in the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 288,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $22,849,000 after buying an additional 44,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSM. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on 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. decreased their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $89.60. 764,470 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 581,422. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.46 and a 200-day moving average of $83.58. 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 one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $104.76. The firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70 and a beta of 0.87.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm's revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is currently 72.49%.

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.