Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. Buys 2,711 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,711 shares during the quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $4,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSM. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $81.87 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.65 and a 200-day moving average of $81.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 81.15%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.