MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA Shares Sold by Cooke & Bieler LP

Key Points

• Cooke & Bieler LP reduced its MSA Safety stake by 6.5% in the third quarter, selling 47,127 shares and retaining 678,102 shares valued at approximately $120.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• MSA Safety reported quarterly EPS of $2.40, beating estimates of $2.14, while revenue rose 6.2% year over year to $503.33 million. The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.54, equivalent to a 1.2% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with two Buy ratings and four Holds and an average price target of $211.33. The stock opened at $183.52, while insiders recently sold shares, including a 20,000-share sale by Chairman Nishan Vartanian.

Cooke & Bieler LP trimmed its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 678,102 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 47,127 shares during the period. MSA Safety Incorporporated comprises about 1.8% of Cooke & Bieler LP's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 1.76% of MSA Safety Incorporporated worth $120,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Madison Asset Management LLC increased its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 588,568 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,496,000 after purchasing an additional 20,324 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 42.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 218,070 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,752,000 after buying an additional 65,002 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 6.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 205,135 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,633,000 after buying an additional 11,788 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 19.9% during the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 176,593 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,412,000 after buying an additional 29,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Giverny Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter valued at about $29,034,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other news, Chairman Nishan Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total transaction of $3,879,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 50,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,762,352.76. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jonathan Buck sold 469 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $89,579.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $721,216. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MSA shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE MSA opened at $183.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1-year low of $151.10 and a 1-year high of $208.92. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $183.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.62. The company has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83 and a beta of 0.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.26. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.13% and a net margin of 16.13%. The firm had revenue of $503.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $496.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. MSA Safety Incorporporated's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated NYSE: MSA develops and manufactures safety products and systems designed to protect workers and facility operations. Its offerings include industrial and firefighter helmets, eye and face protection, hearing protection, respiratory protection, protective clothing, and fall-protection equipment.

The company also provides portable and fixed gas-detection systems, flame detection and suppression technologies, thermal imaging cameras, and related software and services.

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