Brokerages Set MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Target Price at $90.43

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.4286.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $84.69 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. MSC Industrial Direct has a 12-month low of $68.10 and a 12-month high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The company had revenue of $965.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 14th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 95.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Philip Peller purchased 6,666 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $90.14 per share, for a total transaction of $600,873.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,665.18. This trade represents a 232.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 95,779 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $84.92 per share, with a total value of $8,133,552.68. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,219,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,462,531.40. The trade was a 4.51% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders bought 211,342 shares of company stock worth $17,951,965. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth about $1,352,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,950,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 250,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,289,000 after buying an additional 14,107 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 100.0% in the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 48,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,135,000 after buying an additional 24,318 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,743,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,232,000 after acquiring an additional 92,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.