State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Raises Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $2,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter worth $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 2.8 %

MSM opened at $83.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.05 and a 12 month high of $104.76. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.20.

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.