JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 173,210 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 173,210 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 5.09% of MSA Safety worth $331,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 120.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on MSA shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Trading Down 6.2 %

NYSE:MSA traded down $8.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $134.16. 296,533 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 165,537. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $133.74 and a 12-month high of $200.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $157.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.29%.

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.