MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $82.20.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th.

Insider Activity

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 27,642 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 46,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 74,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,195,000 after buying an additional 6,864 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.9% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 641,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,232,000 after buying an additional 35,077 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $77.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.71%.

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.