MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Bought by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 98,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,855 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $9,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,950,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,118.9% during the second quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 346,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,417,000 after purchasing an additional 317,613 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 116.2% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 269,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,888,000 after purchasing an additional 144,666 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2,876.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 129,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,977,000 after purchasing an additional 124,767 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,004,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:MSM opened at $94.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.46. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a one year low of $68.10 and a one year high of $95.60. The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.73.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $965.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.37%.The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 95.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MSM. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $95.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 22,870 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $84.96 per share, for a total transaction of $1,943,035.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,328,192 shares in the company, valued at $197,803,192.32. This represents a 0.99% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller purchased 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $90.14 per share, with a total value of $600,873.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $859,665.18. This trade represents a 232.18% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.