MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Position Cut by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 39.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,422 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,577 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in 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. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in MSA Safety by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 869 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MSA traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $157.76. 37,779 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 181,268. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $149.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.54. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $127.86 and a 52-week high of $200.61. 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 (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. The business had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.60 million. The business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. MSA Safety's payout ratio is 29.24%.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In other news, 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 transaction of $4,839,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 35,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. This trade represents a 45.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value 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. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target (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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $191.80.

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.