Bank of America Corp DE Sells 20,381 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,428 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 20,381 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.18% of MSA Safety worth $12,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSA. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% in the fourth 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. raised its position in MSA Safety by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 869 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSA has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on MSA Safety in a report on Monday, May 5th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $191.80.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE MSA traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $161.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 28,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,156. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.96. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $127.86 and a 52 week high of $200.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.16.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. The company had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $402.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.24%.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In other news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $4,839,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. The trade was a 45.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.