New South Capital Management Inc. Sells 151,928 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

New South Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 28.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 387,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 151,928 shares during the period. MSC Industrial Direct accounts for approximately 3.3% of New South Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. New South Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.69% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $47,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth $49,939,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,773,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,607,000 after buying an additional 306,436 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 100.6% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor LLC now owns 484,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,986,000 after buying an additional 243,106 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at about $13,756,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 19.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 366,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,604,000 after buying an additional 59,877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MSM shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $152.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Stephens raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.22.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 1.4%

MSM stock opened at $121.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.80 and a twelve month high of $133.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $122.83 and a 200-day moving average of $110.49.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 5.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.45%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct is a North American distributor of metalworking products and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves manufacturers and other industrial customers, offering products such as cutting tools, abrasives, hand tools, safety equipment, fasteners and electrical supplies. In addition to product distribution, MSC provides services designed to help customers manage purchasing and inventory. These include online ordering, inventory-management programs, vending solutions and technical support for metalworking and manufacturing applications.