Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. Trims Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 20.6%, now holding approximately 190,610 shares valued at about $14.8 million.
• Several institutional investors, including American Century Companies and Boston Partners, have increased their positions in MSC Industrial Direct, indicating growing interest from the investment community.
• MSC Industrial Direct has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, with a yield of 3.9%, reflecting a payout ratio of 96.05%.

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. lowered its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 20.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 190,610 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 49,410 shares during the period. MSC Industrial Direct accounts for 1.3% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.34% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $14,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth $25,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 207.8% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth $32,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 895.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 47.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MSM shares. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $195,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,348,444. The trade was a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM traded down $1.3950 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $87.6650. The company had a trading volume of 295,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 597,388. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.28. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $92.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $969.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio 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.