Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 23,631 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 376,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 23,631 shares during the quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $34,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,950,000. SG Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 867.0% during the 3rd quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 360,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,261,000 after buying an additional 323,659 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 110.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 479,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,158,000 after buying an additional 251,759 shares during the period. Concentric Capital Strategies LP grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 303.6% during the 3rd quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP now owns 204,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,886,000 after acquiring an additional 154,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 269,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,888,000 after acquiring an additional 144,666 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $91.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.73. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.49. The company has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93 and a beta of 0.81.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $965.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 14th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 95.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSM. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, iA Financial set a $95.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.50.

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.