Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 42.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,659 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,373 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 183.6% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 14,451 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at $16,571,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 68.5% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 157,252 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,458,000 after purchasing an additional 63,955 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,101,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance
Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock traded up $3.15 on Thursday, hitting $84.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 348,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,991. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $104.76.
MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $952.30 million for 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 for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 74.24%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
MSM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.20.
Check Out Our Latest Report on MSM
Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct
In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.80% of the company's stock.
About MSC Industrial Direct
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Free Report)
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.
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