MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.83 (NYSE:MSM)

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 26th, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of 0.83 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th.

MSC Industrial Direct has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. MSC Industrial Direct has a payout ratio of 50.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect MSC Industrial Direct to earn $6.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.5%.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MSM traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $99.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 588,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,887. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.96. MSC Industrial Direct has a 12 month low of $81.66 and a 12 month high of $105.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.30.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The firm had revenue of $954.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $971.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, KeyCorp reduced their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 51,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.31, for a total value of $4,966,702.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,907,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,596,541.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 51,040 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.31, for a total transaction of $4,966,702.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,907,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,596,541.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $720,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,432,038 shares in the company, valued at $137,475,648. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,503 shares of company stock worth $24,841,663 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter worth $245,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter worth $239,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter worth $238,000. Creative Planning bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth $210,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.