Swedbank AB Has $4.43 Million Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) by 35.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 27,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,129 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated were worth $4,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,792,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $607,365,000 after purchasing an additional 82,305 shares during the period. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 1,811,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $290,115,000 after buying an additional 106,349 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 899,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,971,000 after buying an additional 74,410 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 764,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,460,000 after acquiring an additional 9,915 shares during the period. Finally, M&G PLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. M&G PLC now owns 728,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,596,000 after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MSA shares. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 target price on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings lowered MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $235.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Julie A. Beck acquired 448 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $158.69 per share, for a total transaction of $71,093.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 3,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,989.25. The trade was a 13.27% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

MSA Safety Incorporporated stock traded up $3.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.04. 252,706 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 313,613. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $167.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 3.17. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12 month low of $151.10 and a 12 month high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $463.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.28 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 24.54%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This is a boost from MSA Safety Incorporporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.19%.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company’s offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA’s products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.

Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.