<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of  MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission. The institutional investor  bought 7,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,243,000.</p><p>Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of  MSA Safety Incorporporated by 3,400.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter.  Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in  MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter worth $33,000.  EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in  MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter.  Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in  MSA Safety Incorporporated by 397.7% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 219 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in  MSA Safety Incorporporated by 115.4% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. </p><h2>Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth</h2><p>Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MSA shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a &#34;buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings  reissued a &#34;hold (c+)&#34; rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued  a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and an average price target of $186.50.</p><p><b>Read Our Latest Research Report on MSA</b></p><h2>Insider Activity</h2><p>In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.00, for a total transaction of $53,613.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $713,874. This trade represents a 6.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. </p><h2>MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance</h2><p>Shares of MSA stock opened at $160.15 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52 week low of $127.86 and a 52 week high of $182.85. The company has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 3.08. </p><p>MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.04. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.24% and a net margin of 15.02%.The company had revenue of $468.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis.  On average, sell-side analysts predict that  MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year. </p><h2>MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend</h2><p>The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.5625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from MSA Safety Incorporporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. MSA Safety Incorporporated's payout ratio is presently 29.90%. </p><h2>MSA Safety Incorporporated Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company's offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA's products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.  </p><p>Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.</p><h2>Read More</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than MSA Safety Incorporporated</li><li>What Are the FAANG Stocks and Are They Good Investments?</li><li>These 3 Banks Are Rallying Into Year-End, But Will It Continue?</li><li>What is the S&amp;P/TSX Index?</li><li>3 Surging Stocks Just Got the Ultimate Stamp of Approval From the S&amp;P 500</li><li>Which Wall Street Analysts are the Most Accurate?</li><li>This ETF Caught a Major Tailwind After the Fed’s Rate Cut</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSA?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1TQQ?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1TQQ"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in MSA Safety Incorporporated Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider MSA Safety Incorporporated, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and MSA Safety Incorporporated wasn't on the list.</p><p>While MSA Safety Incorporporated currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired 7,418 shares of MSA Safety Incorporated, valued at $1.24 million, during Q2. Other investors also increased their positions. MSA's stock has a market cap of $6.27 billion, with a recent earnings report showing $1.94 EPS, surpassing estimates. The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5625. Analysts have mixed ratings on MSA, with a hold consensus and a price target of $186.50.</p>

Squarepoint Ops LLC Takes $1.24 Million Position in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA