Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,878 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.80% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $134,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at $16,571,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 68.5% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 157,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,458,000 after purchasing an additional 63,955 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,101,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 892.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM stock opened at $85.41 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.11. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.05 and a twelve month high of $104.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 74.24%.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.