Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Sells 343 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lessened its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 273,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 343 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.49% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $20,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital reduced their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE MSM opened at $77.72 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $94.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 89.71%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.