MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Plans $0.85 Quarterly Dividend

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 25th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.85 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%.

MSC Industrial Direct has a dividend payout ratio of 87.0% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings fall. Analysts expect MSC Industrial Direct to earn $4.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 84.0%.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $82.01. The stock had a trading volume of 512,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 611,243. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $68.10 and a twelve month high of $90.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business's fifty day moving average is $79.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.24. The company has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64 and a beta of 0.87.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The business had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 27,642 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. This represents a 1.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at $816,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at $455,000. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at $229,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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 research report on Friday, April 4th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.00.

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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