Raymond James Financial Inc. Raises Position in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated by 5.2%, owning 0.71% of the company worth $40.67 million after purchasing additional shares in Q1.
• MSA Safety's stock has received mixed analyst ratings, with a current consensus rating of "Hold" and target price around $189.20 amidst various price adjustments from different firms.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 30.24%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 277,269 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,717 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.71% of MSA Safety Incorporporated worth $40,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 14,504 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 760,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,118,000 after buying an additional 4,734 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,120 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,667,000 after buying an additional 1,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 225.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,008 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $830,000 after buying an additional 3,471 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSA. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $183.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $189.20.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $173.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,410. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $173.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.37. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12-month low of $127.86 and a 12-month high of $187.41.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.17. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The company had revenue of $474.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. MSA Safety Incorporporated's dividend payout ratio is 30.24%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated 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.