Simplicity Solutions LLC Buys 539 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.4% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,359,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $534,178,000 after purchasing an additional 327,944 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,817,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,790,000 after purchasing an additional 197,193 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.8% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,367,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $114,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24,040 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,080,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,032,000 after purchasing an additional 52,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,023,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $87,253,000 after acquiring an additional 5,411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 18,746 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,830,171.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,846,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,227,616.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 232,003 shares of company stock worth $22,679,413 in the last quarter. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:MSM opened at $91.10 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.01. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.14 and a 52 week high of $105.77. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 0.95.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The company had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 59.61%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.