MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Shares Down 7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) traded down 7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $78.88 and last traded at $78.9970. 562,644 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 870,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 3.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $86.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.64.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The business had revenue of $965.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 14th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 95.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Philip Peller bought 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $90.14 per share, with a total value of $600,873.24. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,537 shares in the company, valued at $859,665.18. This trade represents a 232.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 22,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $84.96 per share, with a total value of $1,943,035.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,328,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,803,192.32. This trade represents a 0.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 211,342 shares of company stock worth $17,951,965. 19.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MSM. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 257.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 130.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.