Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,128 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,128 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,467,000 after buying an additional 61,022 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,373,000 after buying an additional 135,500 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 10.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 8,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.8% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. reduced their price target 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MSM opened at $81.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.93. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.79 and a 52-week high of $104.76. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $81.65 and its 200-day moving average is $81.92.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 81.15%.

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.