HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 22.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,439 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $1,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 486.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 985.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in MSA Safety in the 2nd quarter worth $204,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the second quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in MSA Safety during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $210,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $173.87 on Tuesday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $160.02 and a 52 week high of $200.60. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $172.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

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