AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lowered its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,028 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned approximately 0.20% of MSA Safety Incorporporated worth $13,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSA. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter worth about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 397.7% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSA. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Two equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.50.

Insider Activity

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

MSA Safety Incorporporated Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $181.34 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $165.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.48. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52-week low of $127.86 and a 52-week high of $185.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.58 and a beta of 0.97.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $468.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.37 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.24% and a net margin of 15.02%.The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

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.