Wells Fargo & Company MN Has $1.47 Million Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Wells Fargo & Company MN cut its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 62.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,692 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 32,217 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSM. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,278,000. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth $843,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,077,450 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,493,000 after purchasing an additional 20,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,369 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,061,000 after buying an additional 12,466 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $82.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MSM stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.58. 98,858 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 636,659. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $77.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.20. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm's revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.