Concentric Capital Strategies LP Cuts Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Concentric Capital Strategies LP reduced its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 95.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,776 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 379,665 shares during the quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,864 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth $34,735,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 26,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,945,000 after acquiring an additional 2,136 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 155,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,654,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSM. Loop Capital cut their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wolfe Research raised MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $82.20.

Insider Activity

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MSM stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.11. The stock had a trading volume of 311,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,716. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $76.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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%. The business's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.