Blue Trust Inc. Raises Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 567.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at about $775,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 183.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 14,451 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at about $16,571,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 130,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,627,000 after acquiring an additional 8,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $78.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.86. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $104.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.29.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 7.44%. The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 64.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSM. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

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.