MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA Shares Purchased by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) by 42.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 218,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,002 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated were worth $35,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSA. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 700.0% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 109.3% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $235.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.50.

Trending Headlines about MSA Safety Incorporporated

Here are the key news stories impacting MSA Safety Incorporporated this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSA Safety’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $2.40 per share versus the $2.14 consensus and revenue of $503.3 million versus estimates of $496.3 million. Revenue increased 6.2% year over year, while earnings rose from $1.93 per share in the prior-year quarter. The strong performance likely remains a key reason for the stock’s recent strength. MSA Safety Shares Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $220 from $210, signaling additional potential upside despite retaining a neutral rating. JPMorgan Price Target Update
• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird increased its price target to $215 from $197. Although the firm remains neutral, the higher target reflects a more favorable valuation outlook following the earnings performance. Baird Price Target Update
• Neutral Sentiment: MSA Safety declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $0.54 per share, payable September 10 to shareholders of record August 14. The company also declared a $0.5625 preferred-stock dividend. The payout supports investor income but is unlikely to materially change the valuation. MSA Safety Declares Quarterly Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: B. Riley downgraded MSA Safety from “buy” to “neutral” and cut its price target to $195 from $210. The downgrade suggests limited near-term upside after the stock’s recent advance and offsets some of the optimism from the other target increases. B. Riley Rating Downgrade

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Up 1.2%

MSA stock opened at $192.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.02. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1-year low of $151.10 and a 1-year high of $208.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $168.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.28. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95 and a beta of 0.94.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.26. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 25.12%. The company had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.27 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.86 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Julie A. Beck bought 448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $158.69 per share, for a total transaction of $71,093.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,989.25. The trade was a 13.27% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Profile

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.