Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 263,552 MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 263,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,689,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,939,000 after purchasing an additional 40,569 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 27.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,658,000 after purchasing an additional 169,168 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 767,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,251,000 after purchasing an additional 17,052 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 590,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,923,000 after purchasing an additional 150,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,345,000 after purchasing an additional 6,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE MSA opened at $152.69 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $151.14 and a 52-week high of $200.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $162.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. On average, equities research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

MSA Safety Company 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.