River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 27,262 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

River Road Asset Management LLC cut its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 372,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27,262 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 0.66% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $37,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 168.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 154.8% in the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $93,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSM shares. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MSM traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $91.10. The stock had a trading volume of 423,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 488,765. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.14 and a 12 month high of $105.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.16. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 0.95.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The business had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.55 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.61%.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 24,501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.31, for a total value of $2,433,194.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,683,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,219,171.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other MSC Industrial Direct news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,442,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,417,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,248,203.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 24,501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.31, for a total value of $2,433,194.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,683,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,219,171.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 247,003 shares of company stock valued at $24,121,663. 18.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.