SG Americas Securities LLC Invests $1.27 Million in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,273,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSA. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 39.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 54.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSA Safety news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $4,839,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. The trade was a 45.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSA has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.80.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $165.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day moving average is $156.17 and its 200 day moving average is $159.19. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $127.86 and a 52 week high of $200.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $402.60 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.24%.

About MSA Safety

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.