12,346 Shares in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,322,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $3,437,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 50.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 306 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,814 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,338 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,758,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSA Safety Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MSA traded down $2.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $176.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 104,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,855. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22 and a beta of 0.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $180.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.37. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $147.35 and a 1 year high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.04. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 30.64% and a net margin of 14.97%. The business had revenue of $462.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $461.30 million. On average, equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. MSA Safety's payout ratio is 30.22%.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In related news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.00, for a total value of $745,605.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,039,117. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MSA. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. William Blair raised shares of MSA Safety to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th.

MSA Safety 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.