151,928 MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Sold by New South Capital Management Inc.

New South Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 387,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 151,928 shares during the period. MSC Industrial Direct makes up 3.3% of New South Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. New South Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $47,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. VELA Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter valued at about $3,789,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter valued at about $1,392,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 13.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 236,504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,132,000 after buying an additional 27,171 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 27.5% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 53,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,959,000 after buying an additional 11,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,355,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $115.94 per share, for a total transaction of $28,985,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,578,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,915,580.48. This trade represents a 10.74% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Reuben E. Slone acquired 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $115.77 per share, with a total value of $50,128.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 433 shares in the company, valued at $50,128.41. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM opened at $121.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.80 and a 12 month high of $133.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.49. The stock has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40 and a beta of 0.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 5.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase 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 is currently 89.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson set a $155.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $130.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.22.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct is a North American distributor of metalworking products and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves manufacturers and other industrial customers, offering products such as cutting tools, abrasives, hand tools, safety equipment, fasteners and electrical supplies. In addition to product distribution, MSC provides services designed to help customers manage purchasing and inventory. These include online ordering, inventory-management programs, vending solutions and technical support for metalworking and manufacturing applications.