MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Stock Position Lifted by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 77.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 34,228 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of MSA Safety worth $12,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in MSA Safety by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $643,825,000 after purchasing an additional 22,190 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $331,503,000 after buying an additional 173,210 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $224,504,000 after buying an additional 674,560 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in MSA Safety by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,131,515 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $187,573,000 after buying an additional 271,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in MSA Safety by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 806,438 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $133,718,000 after buying an additional 24,733 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MSA shares. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. DA Davidson reduced their price target on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $191.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business'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 value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $161.03 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $149.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.82. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 0.96. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $127.86 and a 52-week 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 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $402.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. MSA Safety's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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