Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Buys 858 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $3,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.2 %

MSM traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $85.32. 28,100 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 578,980. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.05 and a 12-month high of $104.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66 and a beta of 0.87.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.