Valley National Advisers Inc. Reduces Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Valley National Advisers Inc. decreased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 36.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,087 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,491 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.'s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 372 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.4% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the firm'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MSM traded up $0.26 on Thursday, reaching $80.83. The company had a trading volume of 516,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,937. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $80.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.08.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 81.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.80.

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.