Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 59,123 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 14.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 356,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 59,123 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $44,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,773,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,607,000 after buying an additional 306,436 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,463,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,098,000 after buying an additional 52,860 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,357,419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $125,240,000 after buying an additional 14,484 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth $49,939,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 366,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,604,000 after buying an additional 59,877 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $116.25 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $123.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.73. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.80 and a twelve month high of $133.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21 and a beta of 0.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $152.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. DA Davidson set a $155.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $130.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens raised MSC Industrial Direct from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Reuben E. Slone bought 433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $115.77 per share, with a total value of $50,128.41. Following the transaction, the director owned 433 shares in the company, valued at $50,128.41. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $115.94 per share, for a total transaction of $28,985,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,578,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,915,580.48. The trade was a 10.74% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc is a distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves industrial and institutional customers with products used in machining, manufacturing, facility maintenance and workplace safety.

Its offerings include cutting tools, abrasives, tooling and workholding equipment, machinery, safety products, material-handling supplies, janitorial and facility-maintenance products, and other industrial consumables. MSC also provides technical support, inventory-management programs, vending and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage procurement and production-related needs.

Founded in 1941, MSC serves customers primarily across the United States and Canada through sales representatives, customer service teams, catalogs, distribution operations and digital commerce platforms.