Meeder Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 60,497 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $216,772,000 after buying an additional 1,256,706 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at $16,571,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised 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 valued at $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 154,454 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,373,000 after purchasing an additional 135,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,493,000 after purchasing an additional 98,265 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, 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. 18.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.8 %

MSM stock opened at $82.44 on Tuesday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.15 and a 200-day moving average of $83.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 0.87.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

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.