Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Makes New $372,000 Investment in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,241 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at about $362,000. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,356 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $70,345,000 after purchasing an additional 6,119 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 124,041 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,468,000 after purchasing an additional 26,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 62.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,959,000 after purchasing an additional 6,384 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSA shares. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Two investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $191.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at $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 currently owned by company insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA traded down $0.86 on Monday, hitting $158.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 71,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,539. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 0.96. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $127.86 and a one year high of $200.61.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. The company had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $402.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. MSA Safety's payout ratio is presently 29.24%.

MSA Safety Company 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.