Raymond James & Associates Has $12.01 Million Stock Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,108 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,355 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.18% of MSA Safety worth $12,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 37.5% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,856 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,793 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 36.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 24,055 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,192,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 58.6% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,844 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 1,789 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total transaction of $200,024.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,540,912.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total transaction of $761,389.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,593,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total value of $200,024.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,540,912.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,504 shares of company stock valued at $1,017,991 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $200.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $189.50.

MSA Safety Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MSA traded up $4.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $194.81. 224,078 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 145,841. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 134.35 and a beta of 1.01. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $122.57 and a 52-week high of $196.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $181.77 and its 200-day moving average is $169.66.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $495.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $467.52 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 3.28%. The company's revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. MSA Safety's payout ratio is currently 129.66%.

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.