MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Stake Reduced by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,682,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,060,586 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $247,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.5% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 508,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,554 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,950,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 362,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,843,000 after purchasing an additional 64,171 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 867.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 360,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,261,000 after purchasing an additional 323,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 29.3% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 318,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,069,000 after purchasing an additional 72,056 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSM. Zacks Research downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. iA Financial set a $95.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.50.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM opened at $93.88 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65 and a beta of 0.84. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $96.99.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $965.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.37%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 95.08%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.