MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Stock Holdings Lifted by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 298.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,967 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of MSA Safety worth $4,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 62.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,959,000 after purchasing an additional 6,384 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in MSA Safety by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,440 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 136,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $22,672,000 after acquiring an additional 4,086 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,452 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSA. DA Davidson lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on MSA Safety in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $191.80.

MSA Safety Price Performance

MSA stock traded up $0.89 on Friday, reaching $159.46. The company had a trading volume of 299,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,800. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $127.86 and a 1 year high of $200.61. The company's fifty day moving average is $149.30 and its 200 day moving average is $160.75. The company has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 0.96.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $402.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. MSA Safety's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued 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 is Thursday, May 15th. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $4,839,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 35,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,710,889.32. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.