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

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.20.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. KeyCorp cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 8th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, June 14th.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $413,271.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,091,086.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.4% in the second quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 71,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,634,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 8,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 154,454 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM stock opened at $88.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $75.05 and a twelve month high of $105.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.39.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.33. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The company had revenue of $979.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $979.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 64.47%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.