Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 169,168 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 169,168 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $138,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cooke & Bieler LP bought a new stake in MSA Safety during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,236,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 219.8% during the second quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 306,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,610,000 after acquiring an additional 210,968 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 748.6% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,303,000 after purchasing an additional 57,827 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in MSA Safety by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,939,000 after purchasing an additional 40,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in MSA Safety by 453.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,845,000 after purchasing an additional 34,248 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSA. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. B. Riley initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $205.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $173.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $172.29 and a 200 day moving average of $178.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $160.02 and a 52 week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $432.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $449.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.48%.

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.