Two Sigma Securities LLC Invests $637,000 in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $637,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter worth about $158,997,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $90,999,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,878,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1,447.3% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 363,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,159,000 after purchasing an additional 339,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 233.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 452,505 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,464,000 after purchasing an additional 316,975 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. B. Riley Financial lowered MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $187.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 3.24. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a fifty-two week low of $151.10 and a fifty-two week high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.26. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 25.13%. The firm had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CFO Julie A. Beck acquired 448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $158.69 per share, with a total value of $71,093.12. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,989.25. This trade represents a 13.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $89,579.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $721,216. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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.