MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Director Acquires $2,888,027.48 in Stock

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 34,073 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $84.76 per share, with a total value of $2,888,027.48. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,253,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $190,995,471.68. This trade represents a 1.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Mitchell Jacobson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, November 3rd, Mitchell Jacobson purchased 51,954 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $84.43 per share, for a total transaction of $4,386,476.22.
• On Thursday, October 30th, Mitchell Jacobson purchased 95,779 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $84.92 per share, for a total transaction of $8,133,552.68.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MSM stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $84.79. 461,272 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 590,412. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $89.41 and its 200-day moving average is $85.51. The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $978.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.03 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 5.29%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 97.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 43,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,990,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 55,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,086,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSM shares. Wolfe Research cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.50.

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.