Swiss National Bank Has $14.13 Million Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 1.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 81,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $14,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in MSA Safety by 14.0% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in MSA Safety by 0.3% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 22,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,950,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in MSA Safety by 42.2% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in MSA Safety by 22.8% during the second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Suncoast Equity Management grew its position in MSA Safety by 4.9% during the first quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 2,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 80.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 500 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.65, for a total value of $91,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,574 shares in the company, valued at $1,748,691.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MSA opened at $167.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 202.10 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $122.57 and a 12 month high of $185.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $160.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.08.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.32. MSA Safety had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 31.60%. The company had revenue of $446.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $409.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. MSA Safety’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 226.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSA. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on MSA Safety from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. TheStreet upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, November 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $196.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.00.

MSA Safety Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products and software that protect people and facility infrastructures in the oil, gas, petrochemical, fire service, construction, industrial manufacturing applications, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration, utilities, military, and mining industries in North America, Latin America, and internationally.