AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Grows Stock Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,724 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $12,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 198.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 486.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD acquired a new stake in MSA Safety in the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Kowal Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in MSA Safety in the second quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in MSA Safety in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $173.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.47. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $157.34 and a 12 month high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 15.16%. The company had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. MSA Safety’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 29.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. William Blair raised MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. B. Riley initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $207.50.

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.