Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 263,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $43,689,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of MSA Safety at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $643,825,000 after acquiring an additional 22,190 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in MSA Safety by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $331,503,000 after purchasing an additional 173,210 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MSA Safety by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 806,438 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $133,718,000 after purchasing an additional 24,733 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 767,634 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $127,251,000 after buying an additional 17,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 651,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $107,977,000 after buying an additional 131,458 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on MSA Safety from $175.00 to $161.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $194.20.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

MSA Safety stock traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $144.17. 161,903 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 173,280. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $151.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.74. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $127.86 and a one year high of $200.61.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.