New South Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. 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 comprises 2.5% of New South Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. New South Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.18% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $50,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 75,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,900,000 after purchasing an additional 3,254 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,445 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,649 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.6% during the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 31,029 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth about $5,167,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.5% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,078 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 research note on Wednesday. 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 note on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens lifted 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. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.33.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSM
Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct
In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance
Shares of MSM traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,124,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 624,916. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $91.05. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $80.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.31.
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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $971.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $969.72 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The firm's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.
MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.
About MSC Industrial Direct
(
Free Report)
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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