Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 253 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 253 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 20,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 54,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 38,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,884,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $77.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.10 and a twelve month high of $94.31. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.56.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wolfe Research raised MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.20.

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.