Natixis Investment Managers International Sells 59 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Natixis Investment Managers International trimmed its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Natixis Investment Managers International’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 5.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 100,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,392,000 after purchasing an additional 5,375 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 0.4% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 17,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,437,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 7.6% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 707,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $136,972,000 after purchasing an additional 49,670 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 33,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,419,000 after purchasing an additional 4,414 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in MSA Safety during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,625,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, William Blair upgraded shares of MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $189.50.

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MSA Safety stock traded down $0.24 on Thursday, hitting $191.78. The company had a trading volume of 309,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,266. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a twelve month low of $147.35 and a twelve month high of $200.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $185.49 and a 200-day moving average of $182.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $428.38 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 31.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.83 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.29, for a total value of $2,038,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,524,472. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

About MSA Safety

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.