MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Receives $82.20 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $82.20.

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSM shares. Loop Capital dropped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 2.4 %

NYSE MSM opened at $75.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $94.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 27,642 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 18.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,864 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 15.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 258,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,259,000 after buying an additional 35,289 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 102.8% in the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 15,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after buying an additional 7,625 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 240.3% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 16,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 5,674 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

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.