MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Acquired by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 61,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,642 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $10,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,693,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter valued at $43,689,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth $29,894,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in MSA Safety by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $331,503,000 after purchasing an additional 173,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in MSA Safety by 27.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $138,658,000 after purchasing an additional 169,168 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA stock opened at $141.49 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 0.97. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $127.86 and a one year high of $200.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.16.

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

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.44%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

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.