Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 10,600 MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

by · The Cerbat Gem

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA – Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,738,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSA. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter worth $158,997,000. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 4th quarter worth about $90,999,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 4th quarter worth about $66,878,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1,447.3% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 363,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,159,000 after buying an additional 339,705 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 4,827.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 338,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,230,000 after buying an additional 331,543 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $235.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.00.

Check Out Our Latest Report on MSA

MSA Safety Incorporporated Trading Down 2.4%

MSA Safety Incorporporated stock opened at $170.32 on Thursday. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12 month low of $151.10 and a 12 month high of $208.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.81.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.14. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 24.54% and a net margin of 15.16%.The firm had revenue of $463.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a boost from MSA Safety Incorporporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Julie A. Beck purchased 448 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $158.69 per share, with a total value of $71,093.12. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at $606,989.25. This represents a 13.27% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Profile

(Free Report)

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company’s offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA’s products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.

Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.

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