Auto Owners Insurance Co Sells 319,500 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Auto Owners Insurance Co trimmed its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 92.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 319,500 shares during the quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $2,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 124.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 195,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,984,000 after buying an additional 108,116 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter worth $1,352,000. Arjuna Capital purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter worth $4,274,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter valued at $39,950,000. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at $1,190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM opened at $90.02 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 0.81. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.10 and a 1 year high of $96.99.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. iA Financial set a $95.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.