Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 754,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,576 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.93% of MSA Safety Incorporporated worth $129,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at approximately $158,997,000. M&G PLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 5,607.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 4,827.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 338,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,230,000 after buying an additional 331,543 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,167,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 4,260.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 204,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,188,000 after buying an additional 199,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. National Bank Financial set a $235.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $186.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $223,828.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,234 shares in the company, valued at $658,054.32. The trade was a 25.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

MSA Safety Incorporporated stock opened at $183.69 on Thursday. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12 month low of $127.86 and a 12 month high of $208.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.01 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.96.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $510.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.62 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 14.88% and a return on equity of 24.48%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. Equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is presently 29.94%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.