D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Purchases 34,228 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 77.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,228 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.20% of MSA Safety worth $12,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSA. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 120.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Price Performance

NYSE MSA traded down $0.82 on Monday, reaching $158.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,312. The stock has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 0.96. MSA Safety Incorporated has a twelve month low of $127.86 and a twelve month 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. The firm's 50 day moving average is $149.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.64.

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

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is a boost from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. MSA Safety's payout ratio is presently 29.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price objective on MSA Safety in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target (down 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at $5,710,889.32. This trade represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.