Sharp Financial Services LLC Purchases New Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Sharp Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,450 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 21,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 55,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,654,000. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 16,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 5,674 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MSM opened at $82.89 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $81.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.01. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.79 and a 52-week high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction 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 approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSM. Wolfe Research began coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stephens downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.80.

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.