Gotham Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.7%, now holding approximately 0.41% of the company valued at $17.84 million.
• Institutional investors control 79.26% of MSC Industrial Direct's stock, with significant activity in the first quarter, including new positions and substantial increases in existing stakes.
• MSC Industrial Direct reported a quarterly EPS of $1.08, exceeding expectations and projecting a full-year EPS of $3.57, despite a slight decline in revenue compared to last year.

Gotham Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 229,714 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 21,996 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.41% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $17,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 430,642 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,165,000 after acquiring an additional 83,718 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth about $326,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 200,229 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,954,000 after acquiring an additional 32,499 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 307.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 74,804 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,587,000 after acquiring an additional 56,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,872.3% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 107,251 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,011,000 after acquiring an additional 101,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $91.91. 520,319 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 590,120. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.18. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.10 and a 1 year high of $94.31. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96 and a beta of 0.95.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.05. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The firm had revenue of $971.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $969.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is presently 96.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $195,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,348,444. The trade was a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MSM. Zacks Research lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.33.

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.