Axa S.A. Sells 8,256 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Axa S.A. decreased its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,354 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,256 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A. owned 0.13% of MSA Safety worth $8,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in MSA Safety by 120.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on MSA Safety from $175.00 to $161.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MSA Safety from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $190.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MSA stock opened at $155.85 on Tuesday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $127.86 and a 12-month high of $200.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.47 and a 200-day moving average of $161.19. The firm has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 0.96.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio is 29.24%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.