LPL Financial LLC Increases Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,188 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,079,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,621,000 after purchasing an additional 102,660 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 445.4% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 779,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,567,000 after acquiring an additional 636,827 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth $35,576,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 465,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,118,000 after acquiring an additional 40,582 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 438,393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,743,000 after buying an additional 6,336 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Loop Capital upped their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 1.6%

MSM opened at $87.6650 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76 and a beta of 0.92. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $92.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.32.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.05. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 5.30%.The firm had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $969.72 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 96.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $195,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,348,444. The trade was a 12.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 18.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.