MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Sold by Jane Street Group LLC

Jane Street Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 68.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,042 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,629 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in MSA Safety were worth $504,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $643,825,000 after acquiring an additional 22,190 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $331,503,000 after purchasing an additional 173,210 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in MSA Safety by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $224,504,000 after buying an additional 674,560 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in MSA Safety by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,131,515 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $187,573,000 after buying an additional 271,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 806,438 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $133,718,000 after buying an additional 24,733 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chairman now owns 35,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

MSA Safety stock traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $162.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 373,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,588. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $151.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $127.86 and a 12-month high of $200.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61 and a beta of 0.96.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.60 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. The company's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. Sell-side 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. MSA Safety's payout ratio is 29.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MSA shares. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $191.80.

About MSA Safety

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.