Mariner LLC Has $373,000 Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Mariner LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 53.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,995 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,762 shares during the period. Mariner LLC's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,864 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at $34,735,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 26,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,945,000 after buying an additional 2,136 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 155,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,622,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,654,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE:MSM opened at $77.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.10 and a twelve month high of $94.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at $136,171,853.25. This represents a 1.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.

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