Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 71,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,005,000 after acquiring an additional 13,355 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,108,000 after acquiring an additional 4,496 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the 4th quarter worth approximately $275,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSA Safety Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:MSA opened at $185.91 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $185.07 and a 200 day moving average of $171.18. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $122.57 and a 52 week high of $196.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.21 and a beta of 1.01.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.18. MSA Safety had a net margin of 3.28% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $495.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total value of $56,577.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,363. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other MSA Safety news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total value of $200,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,540,912.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total transaction of $56,577.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $650,363. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,504 shares of company stock worth $1,017,991. 6.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.50.

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.