ING Groep NV Invests $619,000 in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

ING Groep NV acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.3% in the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 824,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,892,000 after purchasing an additional 10,858 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.4% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 156,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,893,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 3rd quarter worth about $782,000. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,282,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 449,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $75,244,000 after buying an additional 28,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.00, for a total value of $53,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $713,874. This represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety Incorporporated has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.20.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $202.44 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $174.08 and its 200 day moving average is $169.84. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12-month low of $127.86 and a 12-month high of $208.92. The stock has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $510.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.62 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 14.88%.The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is 29.94%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company 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.