Voloridge Investment Management LLC Purchases 65,953 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 275.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 65,953 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned about 0.23% of MSA Safety worth $14,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSA. UMB Bank n.a. lifted 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 period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 120.6% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 869 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSA Safety Stock Up 0.7%

MSA Safety stock traded up $1.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $163.51. 57,721 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,913. The business's 50 day moving average is $150.81 and its 200 day moving average is $160.18. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $127.86 and a 52 week high of $200.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $402.60 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. Analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio is 29.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSA. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on MSA Safety in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.