FORA Capital LLC Has $579,000 Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

FORA Capital LLC lowered its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 43.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,201 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after buying an additional 1,256,706 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,859,000 after acquiring an additional 113,878 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,467,000 after purchasing an additional 61,022 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,023,000 after purchasing an additional 91,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 765,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,718,000 after purchasing an additional 84,967 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 related news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $85.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.04. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.05 and a twelve month high of $104.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 74.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.