MSC Industrial Direct (MSM) – Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE: MSM) in the last few weeks:

• 10/28/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct was downgraded by Weiss Ratings from “buy (b)” to “buy (b-)”.
• 10/26/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct had its price target raised by Barclays from $152.00 to $159.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 10/23/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct was given a new $130.00 price target by Robert W. Baird.
• 10/23/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from “hold” to “buy”. They now have a $135.00 price target on the stock, up from $130.00.
• 10/23/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct was upgraded by Zacks Research from “hold” to “strong-buy”.
• 10/23/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct had its price target lowered by KeyCorp from $145.00 to $140.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 10/23/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct was upgraded by Stephens from “equal weight” to “overweight”. They now have a $135.00 price target on the stock, up from $130.00.
• 10/13/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct was upgraded by Weiss Ratings from “buy (b-)” to “buy (b)”.
• 10/13/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct was given a new $155.00 price target by DA Davidson.
• 10/13/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct is now covered by Barclays. They set an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price target on the stock.
• 10/13/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct is now covered by Barclays. They set an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price target on the stock.
• 9/28/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct was upgraded by Weiss Ratings from “hold (c+)” to “buy (b-)”.
• 9/15/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct is now covered by Wolfe Research. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock.
• 9/11/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct was downgraded by Weiss Ratings from “buy (b-)” to “hold (c+)”.
• 8/31/2026 – MSC Industrial Direct was downgraded by Zacks Research from “strong-buy” to “hold”.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 87.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Reuben E. Slone purchased 433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $115.77 per share, for a total transaction of $50,128.41. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,128.41. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $115.94 per share, for a total transaction of $28,985,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,578,192 shares in the company, valued at $298,915,580.48. This trade represents a 10.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc is a distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves industrial and institutional customers with products used in machining, manufacturing, facility maintenance and workplace safety.

Its offerings include cutting tools, abrasives, tooling and workholding equipment, machinery, safety products, material-handling supplies, janitorial and facility-maintenance products, and other industrial consumables. MSC also provides technical support, inventory-management programs, vending and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage procurement and production-related needs.

Founded in 1941, MSC serves customers primarily across the United States and Canada through sales representatives, customer service teams, catalogs, distribution operations and digital commerce platforms.