KBC Group NV Acquires 40,361 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) by 3,446.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 41,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,361 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated were worth $6,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 700.0% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 109.3% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MSA shares. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson cut their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $235.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.60.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

NYSE MSA opened at $171.59 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12-month low of $151.10 and a 12-month high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $463.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.28 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 24.54% and a net margin of 15.16%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CFO Julie A. Beck purchased 448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $158.69 per share, for a total transaction of $71,093.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at $606,989.25. This represents a 13.27% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company Profile

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.