LSV Asset Management Sells 10,164 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,164 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.06% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $3,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 72,790 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,371,000 after acquiring an additional 17,258 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 83,387 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,470,000 after buying an additional 6,611 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,276 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,446,000 after buying an additional 3,118 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 38,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,920,000 after buying an additional 4,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 110,274 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,166,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE:MSM traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $92.28. The stock had a trading volume of 220,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,908. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 0.96. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $88.98 and a one year high of $105.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 22.58% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSM shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, April 1st. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.00.

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.