MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Bought by Suncoast Equity Management

Suncoast Equity Management increased its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSA. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 36.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 24,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,192,000 after buying an additional 6,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in MSA Safety by 58.6% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on MSA Safety from $200.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.50.

MSA Safety Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MSA stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $187.40. 13,234 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,680. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $122.57 and a fifty-two week high of $196.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.50 and a beta of 1.01.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.18. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 3.28%. The firm had revenue of $495.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $467.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In related news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total value of $200,024.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,540,912.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other MSA Safety news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total value of $761,389.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,800 shares in the company, valued at $12,593,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total value of $200,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,540,912.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,504 shares of company stock valued at $1,017,991. 6.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.