Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Raises Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 225.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,008 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,471 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in MSA Safety were worth $830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. Barclays PLC increased its stake in MSA Safety by 62.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,959,000 after acquiring an additional 6,384 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 1.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,060 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 97,719 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,329,000 after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of MSA Safety by 63.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,837 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,796,000 after buying an additional 4,205 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth about $1,131,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MSA shares. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday. 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $193.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSA Safety 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 value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE MSA traded down $0.52 on Thursday, reaching $156.90. The stock had a trading volume of 35,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,432. 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 $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $149.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.71.

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

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.