Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lowered its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 61.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 98,322 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $4,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $75.99 on Tuesday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $94.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 0.89.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MSM shares. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wolfe Research raised MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.