MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at about $12,170,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,859,000 after buying an additional 113,878 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 618,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,166,000 after buying an additional 105,265 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 367.3% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 71,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,179,000 after acquiring an additional 56,430 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MSM shares. Stephens lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $80.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $80.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.76. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.79 and a 12-month high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 81.15%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.