Comerica Bank Has $9.57 Million Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 11,807 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.15% of MSA Safety worth $9,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 120.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% in 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. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in MSA Safety by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSA Safety Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MSA stock traded down $1.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $155.85. 179,316 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 178,396. The stock has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 0.96. 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 12 month low of $127.86 and a 12 month high of $200.61. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $149.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.30.

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

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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 restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson decreased their price target on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MSA Safety from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.80.

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.