MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,642 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.16% of MSA Safety worth $10,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth $72,693,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at $43,689,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth $29,894,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $331,503,000 after buying an additional 173,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,658,000 after buying an additional 169,168 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $141.49 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $127.86 and a 1 year high of $200.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.16. The company has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

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.