MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Position Cut by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 90.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 80,106 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 20,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 54,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,044,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 38,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,884,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Wolfe Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 2.3 %

MSM stock opened at $78.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.37. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week high of $94.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 0.89.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

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.