MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,511,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 206,452 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 2.71% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $139,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.6% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 52.2% during the second 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 period. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 5.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $91.55 on Monday. 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 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 $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $89.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.45.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $965.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.37%.MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 14th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 95.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MSM shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. iA Financial set a $95.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.50.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.