MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Sold by Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. decreased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 811 shares during the period. MSC Industrial Direct accounts for 2.5% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $3,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth $77,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth $93,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 5,345.0% during the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 137,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.66, for a total transaction of $13,449,344.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,708,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $166,833,652.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 180,963 shares of company stock valued at $17,712,711 over the last 90 days. 18.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $93.19. 244,211 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 480,331. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.91. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.14 and a twelve month high of $105.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Monday, April 1st. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.00.

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.