First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,511,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 206,452 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $139,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 124.2% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 195,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,984,000 after acquiring an additional 108,116 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth about $1,352,000. Arjuna Capital acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth about $4,274,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth about $39,950,000. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,190,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE MSM opened at $91.55 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01 and a beta of 0.81. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week high of $96.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $89.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.37%.The firm had revenue of $965.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th were issued a $0.87 dividend. 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 3.8%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 95.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, iA Financial set a $95.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.50.

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.