MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.20.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced 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 report on Friday, April 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. This represents a 1.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 6,864 shares during the period. 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 boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 155,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,654,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM stock traded down $1.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 395,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,485. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The firm's 50-day moving average is $77.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.04. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $94.31. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 0.90.

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 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 firm had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $908.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.71%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.