Oak Thistle LLC Sells 10,415 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Oak Thistle LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 72.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,415 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,088,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,649,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,817,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $472,790,000 after purchasing an additional 197,193 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 19.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 769,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,566,000 after purchasing an additional 125,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 605,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,307,000 after buying an additional 113,068 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM stock opened at $78.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $105.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $86.92 and a 200 day moving average of $93.93. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 0.88.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MSM shares. Loop Capital cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Baird R W cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, KeyCorp cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.00.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.