IFP Advisors Inc Sells 263 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

IFP Advisors Inc reduced its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 42.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $33,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ellevest Inc. purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Vigilant Capital Management LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 154.8% in the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter valued at $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSM. Loop Capital raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $96.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 13,599 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total transaction of $1,331,478.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,339,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,106,581.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 28.39% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.9 %

MSM opened at $98.58 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 1.02. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.75 and a one year high of $105.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 24.29% and a net margin of 8.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 13th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 54.34%.

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.