MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Stake Boosted by EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd

EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd boosted its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 954.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,957 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 54,269 shares during the quarter. MSA Safety makes up about 2.9% of EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd owned approximately 0.15% of MSA Safety worth $9,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in MSA Safety by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 869 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,799,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,190 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,276 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

MSA Safety Stock Performance

MSA Safety stock traded up $3.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $161.17. 42,943 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 182,193. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $127.86 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.15. The stock has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 0.96.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. The firm 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 business posted $1.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. MSA Safety's payout ratio is presently 29.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.