Axa S.A. Buys 2,367 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Axa S.A. increased its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,367 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $12,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 198.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth approximately $142,000. Allegheny Financial Group LTD bought a new position in MSA Safety in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety during the second quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MSA shares. William Blair raised MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In related news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of the firm’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 value of $745,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,039,117. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Price Performance

MSA stock opened at $176.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.37. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $147.35 and a 1 year high of $200.60.

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

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 30.22%.

MSA Safety Company Profile

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.