MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 28.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,682,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,060,586 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 4.81% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $247,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 2,164 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth $455,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at $229,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter valued at $816,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. iA Financial set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.50.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $93.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.82. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.10 and a 12 month high of $96.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $88.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.28. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65 and a beta of 0.84.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

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

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.