River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 188,223 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

River Road Asset Management LLC reduced its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 55.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,858 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 188,223 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 0.27% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $13,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at approximately $775,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 14,451 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at $16,571,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in 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 worth $12,627,000 after purchasing an additional 8,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 81,487 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,907,000 after purchasing an additional 6,711 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report 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 research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock traded up $6.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $88.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,388,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,634. The firm's 50 day moving average is $81.88 and its 200 day moving average is $83.69. 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 capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $959.74 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is presently 72.49%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.