Analysts Set MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Price Target at $90.20

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.20.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSM. Loop Capital cut their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $413,271.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,086.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 18.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter worth about $56,088,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter worth about $21,649,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter worth about $16,571,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 154,454 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MSM stock opened at $79.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.27. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $105.77.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.33. The business had revenue of $979.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $979.10 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 7.44%. The company’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 64.47%.

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.