Convergence Investment Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 548 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at $77,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at $93,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 5,345.0% in the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM stock traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $93.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 363,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 470,775. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.61 and a 52 week high of $105.77. The company has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $96.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.55 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 22.58% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 137,716 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.66, for a total transaction of $13,449,344.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,708,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $166,833,652.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Profile

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.