Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $4.25 Million Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.06% of MSA Safety worth $4,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in MSA Safety by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in MSA Safety by 198.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth $142,000. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the first quarter valued at $203,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE MSA opened at $181.01 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $147.35 and a 12-month high of $200.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $181.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.52. The company has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.82 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $462.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.30 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 30.64% and a net margin of 14.97%. Analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.00, for a total transaction of $745,605.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,039,117. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MSA. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair raised MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th.

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.