Qsemble Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 16,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,431,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MSM. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 2.0 %

MSM opened at $87.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.05 and a twelve month high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.08.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.