New South Capital Management Inc. Sells 40,589 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

New South Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 654,984 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 40,589 shares during the quarter. MSC Industrial Direct makes up about 2.5% of New South Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. New South Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.18% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $50,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSM. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 895.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 51.1% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 719 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 116.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,951,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. This represents a 1.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 18.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSM shares. Stephens boosted their price target 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $89.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 706,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 618,461. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $81.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.10 and a 12-month high of $90.85.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.05%.

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.