Key Points
- Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 250,000 MSC Industrial shares at an average price of $115.94, investing nearly $29 million and increasing his direct ownership by 10.74% to 2.58 million shares.
- MSC Industrial reported quarterly EPS of $1.45, beating estimates by $0.04, while revenue rose 10.3% year over year to $1.08 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.89 per share, implying a 3.0% annualized yield.
- Analyst sentiment was generally positive, with Jefferies upgrading the stock to “buy” and Barclays raising its target to $159; the shares had a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $133.22 target price.
MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $115.94 per share, for a total transaction of $28,985,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,578,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $298,915,580.48. The trade was a 10.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.
MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance
Shares of MSM opened at $118.24 on Wednesday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.80 and a twelve month high of $133.95. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $123.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.65.
MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.
MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.87.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages have commented on MSM. Jefferies Financial Group raised MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $152.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.22.
View Our Latest Analysis on MSC Industrial Direct
Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. VELA Investment Management LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter worth approximately $3,789,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter worth $1,392,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 53,748 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,959,000 after purchasing an additional 11,580 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 236,504 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,132,000 after purchasing an additional 27,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,039,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About MSC Industrial Direct
(
Get Free Report)
MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc is a distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves industrial and institutional customers with products used in machining, manufacturing, facility maintenance and workplace safety.
Its offerings include cutting tools, abrasives, tooling and workholding equipment, machinery, safety products, material-handling supplies, janitorial and facility-maintenance products, and other industrial consumables. MSC also provides technical support, inventory-management programs, vending and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage procurement and production-related needs.
Founded in 1941, MSC serves customers primarily across the United States and Canada through sales representatives, customer service teams, catalogs, distribution operations and digital commerce platforms.
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