Arjuna Capital Lowers Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• Arjuna Capital reduced its MSC Industrial Direct stake by 31.7% in the first quarter, selling 17,133 shares and leaving it with 36,972 shares valued at about $3.41 million.
• MSC Industrial Direct reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.43 EPS versus $1.28 expected and revenue of $1.05 billion, with revenue up 7.8% year over year.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, implying a 2.8% yield, while analysts have recently turned more positive on the stock.

Arjuna Capital cut its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 31.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,972 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 17,133 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital owned approximately 0.07% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $3,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSM. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 628 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 34,884 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 50,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,240,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $124.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.08 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.80 and a fifty-two week high of $127.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.22 and a 200 day moving average of $99.80.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.34% and a net margin of 5.91%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 84.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc NYSE: MSM is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.

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