MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Sold by Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ

Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ lowered its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,078 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 9.2% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 3.9% during the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 7,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.7% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 1st. 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 report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM traded up $0.70 on Thursday, reaching $91.80. 64,540 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 484,153. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.14 and a fifty-two week high of $105.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $97.48 and its 200-day moving average is $98.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 22.58% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 18,746 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,830,171.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,846,027 shares in the company, valued at $180,227,616.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 232,003 shares of company stock valued at $22,679,413. 18.80% of the stock is owned by 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.