MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 173,210 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 5.09% of MSA Safety worth $331,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in MSA Safety by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $148.07 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $159.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.00. MSA Safety Incorporated has a twelve month low of $147.74 and a twelve month high of $200.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. 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 currently 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.