Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New Investment in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. bought a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter worth $158,997,000. M&G PLC increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 5,607.2% in the second quarter. M&G PLC now owns 722,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $121,338,000 after purchasing an additional 709,596 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 2nd quarter worth about $52,167,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 4,260.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 204,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,188,000 after purchasing an additional 199,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,163,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE MSA opened at $161.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77 and a beta of 0.96. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52 week low of $127.86 and a 52 week high of $182.85. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $160.80 and a 200-day moving average of $167.78.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.04. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 25.24%. The company had revenue of $468.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $461.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.5625 per share. This represents a $2.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from MSA Safety Incorporporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.50.

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.