Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $1,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 73,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,184,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in MSA Safety in the 4th quarter worth approximately $282,000. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in MSA Safety by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 651,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,977,000 after buying an additional 131,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 480,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,602,000 after buying an additional 43,758 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $148.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $147.77 and a 52-week high of $200.61.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. Analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.29%.

About MSA Safety

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products and technology solutions that protect people and facility infrastructures in the fire service, energy, utility, construction, and industrial manufacturing applications, as well as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries worldwide.