MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Acquired by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 918,235 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 91,369 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 1.64% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $79,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter valued at $320,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 8,289.7% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 16,828 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 367.3% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 71,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,179,000 after purchasing an additional 56,430 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.4% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 23,114 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.47. The stock had a trading volume of 472,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,511. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.23. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.05 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The company's revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.20.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.