Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at about $77,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital decreased their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Baird R W lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Six 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, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of MSM opened at $75.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.92. 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.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.33. The business had revenue of $979.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $979.10 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 7.44%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.61%.

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.