MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Bought by Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,541 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of MSA Safety worth $4,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 954.1% in the fourth quarter. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 59,957 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,930,000 after purchasing an additional 54,269 shares during the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at $230,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in MSA Safety by 275.1% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 89,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,908,000 after purchasing an additional 65,953 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 13,464 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,232,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the 4th quarter valued at about $360,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $4,839,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 35,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,710,889.32. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price objective on MSA Safety in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two investment 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, MSA Safety currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.80.

MSA Safety Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE MSA traded up $1.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $164.23. 334,962 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 183,950. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $150.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.18. The company has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78 and a beta of 0.96. MSA Safety Incorporated has a twelve month low of $127.86 and a twelve month 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.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $402.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is an increase from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio is 29.24%.

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.