Northern Trust Corp Increases Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 438,374 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 117,758 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.12% of MSA Safety worth $72,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 3,801 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in MSA Safety by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 18,766 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 38,689 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,413,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 31.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 96.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 20,607 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,406,000 after buying an additional 10,101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

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 owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $155.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 0.96. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $149.47 and a 200 day moving average of $161.19. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $127.86 and a 12 month high of $200.61.

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

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is a positive change from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut MSA Safety from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $175.00 to $161.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.80.

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.

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