MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 61.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 98,322 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 0.11% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $4,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,418,260 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,310,000 after buying an additional 193,860 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,987,455 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $148,443,000 after buying an additional 448,708 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,469,000 after buying an additional 126,218 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,434,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $107,168,000 after buying an additional 96,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 127.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,206,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $90,137,000 after buying an additional 676,238 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $82.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 300,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,465. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week high of $94.31. The company's fifty day moving average price is $77.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.34. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 27,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.