Madison Asset Management LLC Acquires New Shares in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 568,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,999,000. MSA Safety Incorporporated accounts for about 1.0% of Madison Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 39.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 47,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,953,000 after buying an additional 13,501 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the first quarter valued at approximately $501,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 44.7% during the 1st 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 increased 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $223,828.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $658,054.32. This trade represents a 25.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSA. Weiss Ratings lowered MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $235.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $235.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.00.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

MSA Safety Incorporporated stock opened at $169.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.29. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52 week low of $151.10 and a 52 week high of $208.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.14. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 24.54% and a net margin of 15.16%.The firm had revenue of $463.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.28 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.83 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from MSA Safety Incorporporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is presently 28.65%.

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.