MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Stock Position Raised by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 414.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,983 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,662 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.12% of MSA Safety worth $7,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 120.6% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 869 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MSA opened at $157.37 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 0.96. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $127.86 and a one year high of $200.61. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.85.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $402.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. MSA Safety’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. The trade was a 16.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.