Analysts Set MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) PT at $83.80

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.80.

MSM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $81.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct has a 12 month low of $72.79 and a 12 month high of $104.76. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.19.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct 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 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 81.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8,289.7% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 16,828 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,195,000 after acquiring an additional 6,864 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 36.4% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 23,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 398.1% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 12,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 892.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.