8,081 Shares in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Purchased by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,564,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,067,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the 4th quarter valued at $68,252,000. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth $63,771,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 293,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,502,000 after purchasing an additional 86,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in MSA Safety in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MSA traded down $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $190.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 152,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,541. The company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $185.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.51. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $147.35 and a fifty-two week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $428.38 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 31.51%. MSA Safety’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. This is a boost from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 11,000 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.29, for a total value of $2,038,190.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,524,472. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, William Blair upgraded shares of MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “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.