MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 8.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 EPS.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.04. The stock had a trading volume of 938,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,079. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct has a 12 month low of $82.09 and a 12 month high of $105.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.30.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 56.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 51,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.31, for a total value of $4,966,702.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,907,271 shares in the company, valued at $185,596,541.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $720,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,432,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,475,648. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 51,040 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.31, for a total value of $4,966,702.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,907,271 shares in the company, valued at $185,596,541.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 254,503 shares of company stock valued at $24,841,663. Company insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSM. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 34.8% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,480,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $467,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414,485 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at $38,273,000. Balyasny Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth about $14,719,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 188.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 239,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,985,000 after buying an additional 156,483 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 150,971 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,334,000 after buying an additional 111,007 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.