MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,878 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $134,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSM. Swedbank AB bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at about $16,571,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 68.5% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 157,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,458,000 after acquiring an additional 63,955 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $216,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,706 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,101,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 892.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM stock opened at $85.41 on Monday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $104.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 0.87. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

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.