Coldstream Capital Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 88.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,054 shares during the quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSM. Stephens downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.20.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $82.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.55 and a 200 day moving average of $82.45. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.05 and a 52 week high of $104.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.24%.

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.