Philip Peller Sells 900 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Stock

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $83.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.05 and a 12 month high of $104.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.52.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSM. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,706 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,859,000 after purchasing an additional 113,878 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,467,000 after purchasing an additional 61,022 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,023,000 after purchasing an additional 91,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 765,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,718,000 after buying an additional 84,967 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products and services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's MRO products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking products, fasteners, flat stock products, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies.