Northern Trust Corp Purchases 117,758 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 36.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 438,374 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 117,758 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.12% of MSA Safety worth $72,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSA. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 62.0% in the 3rd 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. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,060 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 63.4% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,837 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,796,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,131,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in MSA Safety by 23.5% during the 4th 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 owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. The trade was a 16.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective 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. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $191.80.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.37. 139,917 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 179,352. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $149.12 and a 200-day moving average of $160.85. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $127.86 and a one year high of $200.61. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $402.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. MSA Safety's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio is 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.