Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 337 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,418,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $255,310,000 after purchasing an additional 193,860 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,987,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,443,000 after buying an additional 448,708 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,469,000 after acquiring an additional 126,218 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,434,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,168,000 after acquiring an additional 96,335 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 127.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,206,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $90,137,000 after acquiring an additional 676,238 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:MSM opened at $89.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $80.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.43. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $90.85.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $969.72 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 5.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,951,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MSM shares. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Loop Capital upped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.33.

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.