MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Director Purchases $2,888,027.48 in Stock

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 34,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $84.76 per share, with a total value of $2,888,027.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,253,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $190,995,471.68. This trade represents a 1.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Mitchell Jacobson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, November 3rd, Mitchell Jacobson purchased 51,954 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $84.43 per share, for a total transaction of $4,386,476.22.
• On Thursday, October 30th, Mitchell Jacobson purchased 95,779 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $84.92 per share, for a total transaction of $8,133,552.68.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $86.68 on Thursday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.10 and a 12 month high of $94.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.06. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 5.29%.The firm had revenue of $978.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 22,545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 56,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,805,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wolfe Research cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.50.

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.