Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 82,305 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,792,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 82,305 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of MSA Safety Incorporporated worth $607,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the fourth quarter worth $317,000. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 4,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,665,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the fourth quarter worth $327,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $205.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $186.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $235.00 target price on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.50.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

MSA opened at $165.79 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $176.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.11. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1-year low of $151.10 and a 1-year high of $208.92. The company has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42 and a beta of 0.97.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.12. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 14.88% and a return on equity of 24.48%. The firm had revenue of $510.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $658,054.32. This represents a 25.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.