Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 17,265 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Pzena Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 444,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17,265 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $40,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 2,164 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $455,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at $229,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth $816,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSM. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.50.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.2%

MSM opened at $93.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.82. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $96.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $87.53 and its 200 day moving average is $87.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $965.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.37%.MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 14th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.08%.

MSC Industrial Direct Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.