Legal & General Group Plc Sells 16,410 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its MSA Safety stake by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,410 shares and leaving it with 57,051 shares valued at about $9.1 million.
• MSA Safety reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.99 on revenue of $463.6 million, both above analyst estimates, with revenue up 10% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.54 per share and authorized a $500 million share repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 22.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,051 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 16,410 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.15% of MSA Safety Incorporporated worth $9,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 700.0% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 144 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $180.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 target price on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $200.00.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $161.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 3.17 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $168.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.22. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1 year low of $151.10 and a 1 year high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $463.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.28 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 24.54% and a net margin of 15.16%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This is a boost from MSA Safety Incorporporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. MSA Safety Incorporporated's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.19%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company's offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA's products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.

Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.

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