Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 2,252 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 53,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,252 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $5,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 3.9% in the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.7% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 50,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,074,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE MSM traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $91.12. 261,327 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 452,512. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.24 and a fifty-two week high of $105.77.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 22.58% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 59.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSM shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.00.

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.