Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 882,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 35,826 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 1.58% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $65,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2,976.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 44,703 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,339,000 after buying an additional 43,250 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 3,625 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at about $420,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,702.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,658,000 after buying an additional 20,970 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE:MSM traded down $1.36 on Friday, hitting $80.53. The company had a trading volume of 682,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 810,743. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.19. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.79 and a 52 week high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The company had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $904.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $80,163.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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. Insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

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.