MSC Industrial Direct’s (MSM) Neutral Rating Reiterated at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $95.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. iA Financial set a $95.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.50.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $95.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13 and a beta of 0.84. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week high of $96.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $85.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.52.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $965.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.37%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 14th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 95.08%.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 22,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $84.96 per share, with a total value of $1,943,035.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,328,192 shares in the company, valued at $197,803,192.32. This represents a 0.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller purchased 6,666 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $90.14 per share, for a total transaction of $600,873.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,665.18. This trade represents a 232.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 19.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at approximately $455,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter worth approximately $229,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth $816,000. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.