MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) CAO Sells $89,579.00 in Stock

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) CAO Jonathan Buck sold 469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $89,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $721,216. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

MSA stock traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $194.36. The stock had a trading volume of 180,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,136. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52 week low of $151.10 and a 52 week high of $208.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18 and a beta of 0.94.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.27 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 25.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.09 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is 26.87%.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety Incorporporated

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSA. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 39.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 47,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,953,000 after acquiring an additional 13,501 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the first quarter worth $501,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 44.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 31.5% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSA. B. Riley Financial cut shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson set a $223.00 target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.33.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company’s offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA’s products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.

Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.