MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.20.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSM. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Finally, Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE MSM opened at $78.47 on Monday. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $82.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.76. The firm has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.24%.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 258,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,259,000 after buying an additional 35,289 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 25,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth about $248,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.