Freestone Grove Partners LP Acquires Shares of 3,412 MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $566,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSA. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in MSA Safety by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 120.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 97.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its stake in MSA Safety by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MSA shares. B. Riley restated 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. StockNews.com cut shares of MSA Safety from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on MSA Safety from $175.00 to $161.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.20.

MSA Safety Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $157.07 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1-year low of $127.86 and a 1-year 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. The stock has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.39.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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