53,979 Shares in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Bought by Altrius Capital Management Inc

Altrius Capital Management Inc bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 53,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,645,000. Altrius Capital Management Inc owned approximately 0.10% of MSC Industrial Direct as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.20. 67,780 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 579,159. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.05 and a 12-month high of $104.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

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.