UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 7,665 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) by 9.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 89,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,665 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated were worth $15,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 95,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,347,000 after purchasing an additional 9,840 shares during the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. lifted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 1,811,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,115,000 after purchasing an additional 106,349 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 1st quarter valued at $1,738,000. Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 588,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,496,000 after purchasing an additional 20,324 shares during the period. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 4th quarter valued at $23,604,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSA shares. B. Riley Financial downgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety Incorporporated has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total transaction of $3,879,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 50,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,762,352.76. This represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 469 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total transaction of $89,579.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,776 shares in the company, valued at $721,216. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $188.73 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $181.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.02. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a fifty-two week low of $151.10 and a fifty-two week high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.27 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.13% and a net margin of 16.13%.MSA Safety Incorporporated’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company Profile

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.