Navellier & Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Navellier & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 731 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,023,000 after acquiring an additional 91,369 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at about $320,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 8,289.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after buying an additional 16,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 367.3% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 71,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,179,000 after buying an additional 56,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.4 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $81.70 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.27.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of 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 target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 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.