Comerica Bank Acquires 11,807 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,807 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned about 0.15% of MSA Safety worth $9,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $224,504,000 after acquiring an additional 674,560 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,693,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,131,515 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $187,573,000 after buying an additional 271,264 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth $43,689,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in MSA Safety by 554.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 284,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,170,000 after acquiring an additional 241,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Price Performance

NYSE MSA traded up $3.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $159.42. 26,673 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 178,506. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.11. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $127.86 and a 1 year high of $200.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 0.96.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.60 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. The company's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on MSA Safety in a report on Monday. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MSA Safety from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.80.

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.