ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,554 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.51% of MSA Safety worth $33,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $643,825,000 after acquiring an additional 22,190 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 9.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 173,210 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 674,560 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,131,515 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $187,573,000 after acquiring an additional 271,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 806,438 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $133,718,000 after acquiring an additional 24,733 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.
MSA Safety Trading Up 0.0%
MSA Safety stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $159.50. The company had a trading volume of 158,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,868. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.58. The firm has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 0.96. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $127.86 and a 12-month high of $200.61.
MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $402.60 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.
MSA Safety Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.24%.
Insider Transactions at MSA Safety
In other news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. This trade represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson lowered their price target on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com raised MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price objective on MSA Safety in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $191.80.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MSA Safety
MSA Safety Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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