Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 1,663 MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in MSA Safety by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,504,000 after purchasing an additional 674,560 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,693,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,131,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $187,573,000 after buying an additional 271,264 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,689,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in MSA Safety by 554.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 284,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,170,000 after acquiring an additional 241,061 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson cut their target price on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price target on MSA Safety in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $157.37 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.85. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $127.86 and a 1 year high of $200.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. MSA Safety’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.24%.

MSA Safety Company Profile

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.