WealthPLAN Partners LLC Trims Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC reduced its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,113 shares during the quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $4,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,476,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,088,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at about $775,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 183.6% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 14,451 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth about $16,571,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Baird R W downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total value of $413,271.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,091,086.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 18.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM stock opened at $81.06 on Tuesday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.05 and a 12 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. The company has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $81.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.13.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.33. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 7.44%. The business had revenue of $979.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $979.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 64.47%.

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.