Raymond James & Associates Reduces Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 14.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,855 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.14% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $6,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth $775,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 183.6% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,142,000 after buying an additional 14,451 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at $16,571,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 130,123 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,627,000 after buying an additional 8,971 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at $1,253,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM traded down $3.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $79.07. The company had a trading volume of 838,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,514. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 0.86. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $104.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $82.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.06.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business's revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is currently 72.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Loop Capital lowered their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.20.

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.