MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.85

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 18th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of 0.85 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th.

MSC Industrial Direct has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.2% per year over the last three years. MSC Industrial Direct has a dividend payout ratio of 94.2% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities research analysts expect MSC Industrial Direct to earn $4.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 81.7%.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $77.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.43 and a 200-day moving average of $82.35. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1-year low of $75.05 and a 1-year high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the firm’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.