Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 41,058 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 20.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 41,058 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.29% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $14,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the second 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 last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at about $16,571,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,772,000 after buying an additional 154,454 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,373,000 after buying an additional 135,500 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,493,000 after purchasing an additional 98,265 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MSM traded up $0.73 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.36. The company had a trading volume of 553,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 581,256. The company's fifty day moving average price is $83.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.27. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.05 and a 12 month high of $104.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. 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 dividend yield of 4.18%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.20.

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.