Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. cut its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 45.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32,436 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $2,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,469,000 after purchasing an additional 126,218 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,023,000 after buying an additional 91,369 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 793,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,243,000 after buying an additional 70,076 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.8% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 641,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,232,000 after buying an additional 35,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 618,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,166,000 after acquiring an additional 105,265 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Stephens downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM opened at $77.50 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.79 and a 1-year high of $100.35.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.