Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $32.31 Million Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,244 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.56% of MSA Safety worth $32,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety in the 1st quarter valued at $1,273,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 45.7% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in MSA Safety by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety in the 1st quarter valued at $1,510,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE MSA traded down $2.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $161.94. The company had a trading volume of 204,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 186,294. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.46. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $127.86 and a fifty-two week high of $200.61.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.60 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of MSA Safety 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSA. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson lowered their target price 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. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.80.

MSA Safety Company 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.