MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Stock Jumps 5.3% After Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• MSC Industrial Direct shares rose 5.3% to about $119.93 after director Reuben E. Slone purchased 433 shares worth approximately $50,128.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with seven Buy ratings and three Holds; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $133.22.
• The company beat quarterly expectations with $1.45 in EPS and $1.08 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.89 per share, equivalent to a 3.0% yield.

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 5.3% during trading on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $120.14 and last traded at $119.9290. Approximately 163,314 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 740,822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.86.

Specifically, Director Reuben E. Slone bought 433 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $115.77 per share, with a total value of $50,128.41. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,128.41. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Stephens raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $130.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.22.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 5.3%

The stock has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.23 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.78.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is presently 87.44%.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,463,620 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $174,098,000 after purchasing an additional 52,860 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,773,133 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $163,607,000 after purchasing an additional 306,436 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,357,419 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $125,240,000 after acquiring an additional 14,484 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 43.0% during the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 705,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $65,122,000 after buying an additional 212,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,939,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc is a distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves industrial and institutional customers with products used in machining, manufacturing, facility maintenance and workplace safety.

Its offerings include cutting tools, abrasives, tooling and workholding equipment, machinery, safety products, material-handling supplies, janitorial and facility-maintenance products, and other industrial consumables. MSC also provides technical support, inventory-management programs, vending and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage procurement and production-related needs.

Founded in 1941, MSC serves customers primarily across the United States and Canada through sales representatives, customer service teams, catalogs, distribution operations and digital commerce platforms.

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