Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 233,076 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,218,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 233,076 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.08% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $354,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 34,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $104.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.60. The stock has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.37 and a 52 week high of $106.54.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $917.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.69 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 16.06%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $117.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.29.

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.