New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 16,291 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 18.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 16,291 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.13% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $6,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,352,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter worth approximately $39,950,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 250,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,289,000 after buying an additional 14,107 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 100.0% during the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 48,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,135,000 after buying an additional 24,318 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,743,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,232,000 after acquiring an additional 92,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $94.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $85.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $95.60.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $965.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 15.73%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 14th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.08%.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 22,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $84.96 per share, for a total transaction of $1,943,035.20. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,328,192 shares in the company, valued at $197,803,192.32. This trade represents a 0.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller acquired 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $90.14 per share, for a total transaction of $600,873.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,665.18. This trade represents a 232.18% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.