WealthPLAN Partners LLC Sells 11,317 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• WealthPLAN Partners LLC reduced its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 30.5% in the first quarter, selling 11,317 shares and leaving it with 25,771 shares worth about $2.38 million.
• MSC Industrial Direct reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.43 versus estimates of $1.28 and revenue of $1.05 billion, up 7.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment has improved, with multiple firms raising ratings or price targets; the stock now carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a price target of $118.17.

WealthPLAN Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,771 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,317 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $2,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSM. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 628 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 34,884 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 50,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,240,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research raised MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.17.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:MSM opened at $120.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.80 and a twelve month high of $127.51. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $112.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.15. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 17.34%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.06%.

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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