Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Buys Shares of 7,437 MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,256,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth about $4,960,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 227,344 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,382,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 233,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,396,000 after purchasing an additional 9,949 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,944,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in MSA Safety by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,802,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $599,481,000 after purchasing an additional 14,236 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

MSA traded down $1.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $183.93. 134,828 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 130,942. The firm has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $126.75 and a one year high of $196.02. The stock's fifty day moving average is $187.56 and its 200 day moving average is $173.86.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.14. MSA Safety had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 31.51%. The company had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $428.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. MSA Safety's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total transaction of $56,577.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $650,363. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total transaction of $761,389.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,593,850. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total value of $56,577.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $650,363. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,504 shares of company stock valued at $3,056,181. 6.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $189.50.

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.