MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Acquired by Hilltop National Bank

Hilltop National Bank lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $86,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSA. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 748.6% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,303,000 after purchasing an additional 57,827 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 2,362.5% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,119,000 after purchasing an additional 10,844 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 17.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 2.8% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 12,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 453.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,845,000 after buying an additional 34,248 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSA shares. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, B. Riley started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.50.

MSA Safety Stock Down 2.7 %

MSA stock opened at $156.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.56. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1-year low of $156.30 and a 1-year high of $200.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $170.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.15. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61 and a beta of 1.00.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. The firm had revenue of $432.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $449.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.48%.

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.