Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Decreases Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 163 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,817,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,790,000 after buying an additional 197,193 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 829,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,024,000 after buying an additional 32,312 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,476,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 605,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,307,000 after buying an additional 113,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,088,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:MSM traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.37. The stock had a trading volume of 825,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 553,186. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $105.77. The company has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.29 and a 200 day moving average of $91.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.33. The company had revenue of $979.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $979.10 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 7.44%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. KeyCorp cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $413,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,897 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,086.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 18.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.