Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 339,705 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) by 1,447.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 363,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 339,705 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated were worth $58,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $634,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 4.4% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 28.2% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 3.8% during the second quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $235.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety Incorporporated has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.00.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $164.83 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $169.07 and its 200-day moving average is $173.18. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52-week low of $151.10 and a 52-week high of $208.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 3.17.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $463.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.28 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 24.54% and a net margin of 15.16%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from MSA Safety Incorporporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.19%.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

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.