The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,554 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.08% of MSA Safety worth $5,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,877,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in MSA Safety in the first quarter valued at $1,758,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 13,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,619,000 after acquiring an additional 2,874 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,509,000 after acquiring an additional 4,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the 2nd quarter worth about $795,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, B. Riley began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

MSA stock opened at $173.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $160.02 and a 12-month high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. The company had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.48%.

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.