MQS Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,965 MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.3% in the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 824,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,892,000 after buying an additional 10,858 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.4% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 156,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,893,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 3rd quarter valued at $782,000. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 3rd quarter valued at $15,282,000. Finally, Southernsun Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 2nd quarter worth $23,422,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.00, for a total transaction of $53,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $713,874. This trade represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.20.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:MSA opened at $197.40 on Thursday. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52 week low of $127.86 and a 52 week high of $197.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 3.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $172.47 and its 200-day moving average is $169.49. The firm has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84 and a beta of 0.98.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.12. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 25.24%. The business had revenue of $510.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated 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.