Amalgamated Bank Sells 919 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 919 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $3,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth $93,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 5,345.0% during the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $92.28 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.98 and a 1 year high of $105.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.17.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 22.58% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. 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.