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highlight the main points of this news article in 150 words or less in 2 or 3 paragraph write it as a news article: Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM – Free Report) by 24.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 524,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 103,567 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.94% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $51,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSM. Institutional & Family Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 168.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 154.8% during the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth $68,000. 89.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Analysts Set New Price TargetsSeveral research analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. StockNews.com started coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Loop Capital upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.60.Read Our Latest Report on MSC Industrial DirectInsider ActivityIn other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 13,599 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total value of $1,331,478.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,339,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,106,581.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Kristen Actis-Grande sold 2,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.57, for a total value of $265,153.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $455,590.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 13,599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total value of $1,331,478.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,339,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,106,581.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,175 shares of company stock valued at $1,881,595 in the last quarter. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. MSC Industrial Direct Stock PerformanceShares of MSM opened at $104.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $98.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.47. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.75 and a one year high of $105.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 0.99. MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 24.29% and a net margin of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current year. MSC Industrial Direct Dividend AnnouncementThe business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 9th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 8th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.34%. MSC Industrial Direct Profile (Free Report)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.Featured ArticlesWant to see what other hedge funds are holding MSM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM – Free Report).NYSE: MSM” width=”650″ height=”350″ loading=”lazy”>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected] you consider MSC Industrial Direct, you’ll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. 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Read more: Boston Trust Walden Corp Increases Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)