Altrius Capital Management Inc Takes $4.65 Million Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Altrius Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 53,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,645,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter worth approximately $775,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 183.6% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 14,451 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter worth $16,571,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 130,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,627,000 after acquiring an additional 8,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 68.5% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 157,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,458,000 after acquiring an additional 63,955 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.20. The company had a trading volume of 67,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 579,159. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.05 and a 52-week high of $104.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.59.

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 firm had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.24%.

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.