Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 2,096 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 53.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $1,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSA. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 51.2% during the 4th 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 period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in MSA Safety by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 17,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,437,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased 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 worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Trading Down 2.0 %

MSA Safety stock opened at $181.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $181.19 and a 200-day moving average of $184.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.54. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $147.35 and a one year high of $200.60.

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

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSA shares. William Blair upgraded MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

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.