Alps Advisors Inc. Sells 230,301 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Alps Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 97.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 230,301 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 257.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 130.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 22,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $84.96 per share, for a total transaction of $1,943,035.20. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,328,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,803,192.32. This represents a 0.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $94.03 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69 and a beta of 0.84. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a one year low of $68.10 and a one year high of $96.99.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $965.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.37%.The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. On average, 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, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th were issued 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 is 95.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. iA Financial set a $95.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.50.

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.