MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 831 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Praxis Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter valued at $451,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 12.7% in the second quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 142,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,074,000 after acquiring an additional 16,026 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 267.1% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 87,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,402,000 after acquiring an additional 63,347 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter valued at $482,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 72.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of MSM stock opened at $87.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.04. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.10 and a twelve month high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $978.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.03 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 5.29%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. Research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.50.

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.