Bridgewater Associates LP Buys Shares of 1,726 MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSA. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in MSA Safety in the second quarter worth $1,877,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in MSA Safety during the 1st quarter worth $1,758,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in MSA Safety by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 13,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,619,000 after buying an additional 2,874 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in MSA Safety by 11.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,509,000 after buying an additional 4,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MSA Safety in the second quarter worth about $795,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock.

MSA Safety Price Performance

NYSE MSA opened at $174.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $172.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.66. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $160.02 and a 1 year high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $449.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 29.48%.

MSA Safety 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.