Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 4,704 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 66.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 4,704 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in MSA Safety were worth $1,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSA Safety Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of MSA Safety stock traded up $2.80 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $145.17. 199,291 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,031. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $127.86 and a 1 year high of $200.61. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock's fifty day moving average is $150.46 and its 200 day moving average is $162.42.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on MSA Safety from $175.00 to $161.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $194.20.

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.