Natixis Advisors LLC Invests $1.84 Million in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,844,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $299,939,000 after buying an additional 40,569 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $138,658,000 after acquiring an additional 169,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in MSA Safety by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 767,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,251,000 after purchasing an additional 17,052 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 651,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,977,000 after purchasing an additional 131,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 590,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,923,000 after purchasing an additional 150,402 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $197.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $151.15 on Tuesday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $148.23 and a one year high of $200.61. The company has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $160.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.54.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. On average, analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

MSA Safety 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.