Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 3,699 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,145 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,699 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.28% of MSA Safety worth $17,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MSA Safety by 120.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 869 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. DA Davidson cut their target price on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $191.80.

MSA Safety Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE MSA traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $158.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,350. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $127.86 and a 52-week high of $200.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04 and a beta of 0.96. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $149.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.64.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $421.34 million during 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 revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. 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 presently 29.24%.

MSA Safety 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.