UBS Group AG Sells 84,097 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 84,097 shares and leaving it with 395,147 shares valued at about $33.2 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating, with a MarketBeat consensus target price of $94.29, though KeyCorp recently upgraded it to “Overweight” with a $117 target.
• Recent financial results were mixed, as MSC Industrial Direct reported quarterly EPS of $0.82 versus the $0.84 estimate and revenue of $917.8 million below expectations, even as revenue rose 2.9% year over year and the company maintained a 3.3% dividend yield.

UBS Group AG reduced its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 395,147 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 84,097 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.71% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $33,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 257.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 361 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 130.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 27th. iA Financial set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $117.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.29.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $104.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04 and a beta of 0.83. The company's fifty day moving average is $93.92 and its 200 day moving average is $89.60. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.37 and a 52 week high of $106.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $917.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.69 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 5.42%.MSC Industrial Direct's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 8th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.55%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc NYSE: MSM is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.