Martin Capital Partners LLC Has $7.07 Million Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Martin Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the quarter. MSC Industrial Direct accounts for 2.7% of Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Martin Capital Partners LLC owned 0.13% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $7,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth about $56,088,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,649,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,817,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,790,000 after purchasing an additional 197,193 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 462,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,420,000 after purchasing an additional 131,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 769,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $75,566,000 after purchasing an additional 125,944 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MSM traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $79.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,064,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,035. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.05 and a twelve month high of $105.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $89.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 0.89.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.55 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSM. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Baird R W downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, June 14th. KeyCorp lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.00.

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.