JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stock Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 173,210 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.05% of MSA Safety worth $331,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 120.6% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA stock opened at $148.07 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $159.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.00. The company has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $147.74 and a 52 week high of $200.61.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

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.