Matrix Trust Co Boosts Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Matrix Trust Co boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 240.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the quarter. Matrix Trust Co’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock 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. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM stock opened at $82.49 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.88. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.79 and a 52 week high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The company had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.15%.

Insider Activity

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

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.