MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Acquired by Martin Capital Partners LLC

Key Points

• Martin Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 168.2% during Q2, now owning 8,825 shares valued at approximately $750,000.
• The company's most recent quarterly earnings surpassed estimates, with $1.08 EPS reported compared to a forecast of $1.03, despite a 0.8% year-over-year revenue decline.
• MSC Industrial Direct recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.7% and a high dividend payout ratio of 96.05%.

Martin Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 168.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 5,535 shares during the period. Martin Capital Partners LLC's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Red Spruce Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 22,545 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,917,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 47.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 719 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,348,444. The trade was a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens raised their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MSM traded down $1.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.12. 226,338 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 579,988. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $88.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76 and a beta of 0.95. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $969.72 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.05%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.