Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 1.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 487,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,985 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $44,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12,181.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,254,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $273,718,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228,170 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,380,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 213.7% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 619,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,108,000 after acquiring an additional 422,100 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 3,393.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 275,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,164,000 after purchasing an additional 267,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth $21,377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $125.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.38 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.80 and a 52 week high of $128.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $117.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.22.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 17.34%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.