Nishan J. Vartanian Sells 30,000 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Stock

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $4,839,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. This trade represents a 45.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

MSA Safety stock opened at $158.57 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $127.86 and a fifty-two week high of $200.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.75. 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 market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.96.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) 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. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $402.60 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is an increase from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is currently 29.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in MSA Safety by 3,400.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in MSA Safety by 120.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in MSA Safety by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in MSA Safety by 97.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. DA Davidson dropped 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. 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 issued a $195.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.80.

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.