Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 625 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 20,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 38,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,884,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $87.34 on Monday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.10 and a 1 year high of $92.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.64 and a 200 day moving average of $80.48. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67 and a beta of 0.87.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $971.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $969.72 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued 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 3.89%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 96.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $195,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,348,444. This represents a 12.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.