MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Sold by Martingale Asset Management L P

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.5% in Q1, holding 3,605 shares valued at $280,000 after selling over 4,100 shares.
• Multiple brokerages have upgraded their price targets for MSC Industrial Direct, with estimates ranging from $84.00 to $95.00, indicating a generally positive outlook.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of 96.05%.

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 53.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,605 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,144 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.5% in the first 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 grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.1% in the first 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 grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 47.1% in the first 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. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 51.1% in the first 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. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 207.8% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSM. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens boosted their target price on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.1%

MSM opened at $90.7150 on Tuesday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.10 and a 12 month high of $92.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 0.92. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $86.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.53.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $969.72 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 5.30%.MSC Industrial Direct's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 96.05%.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of MSC Industrial Direct 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 18.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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