Royce & Associates LP Sells 76,200 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Royce & Associates LP lowered its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 16.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 389,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 76,200 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.70% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $35,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,743,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,232,000 after buying an additional 92,800 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 508,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,554 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,950,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 362,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,843,000 after purchasing an additional 64,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 867.0% during the third quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 360,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,261,000 after purchasing an additional 323,659 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. iA Financial set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.50.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM stock opened at $93.88 on Monday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $96.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $88.52 and its 200-day moving average is $88.27.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $965.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 95.08%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.