Pacer Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,369 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 1.64% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $79,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at $16,571,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 154,454 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,373,000 after acquiring an additional 135,500 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,493,000 after purchasing an additional 98,265 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE MSM opened at $84.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.05 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.24%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.