Ridgewood Investments LLC Acquires 7,625 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 102.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,625 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, 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 18.30% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM traded down $2.75 on Friday, reaching $79.89. 323,340 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,093,622. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.81. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44 and a beta of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The company had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.20.

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.