Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.2% in Q4, selling 233,076 shares and ending the period with 4,218,760 shares (7.56% of the company) valued at about $354.8 million.
• Analysts are largely cautious with the stock—one Buy and eight Hold ratings—giving an average consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.29.
• MSC reported a Q1 EPS miss ($0.82 vs. $0.84 expected) and revenue below estimates, and it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.87 (a 3.3% yield) with a high payout ratio of about 93.6%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,218,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 233,076 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.56% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $354,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 34,884 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,169,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 210 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 weighed in on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. iA Financial set a $95.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $104.32 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $93.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.37 and a 12 month high of $106.54. The company has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04 and a beta of 0.83.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $917.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.69 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio 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.

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