Jonathan Buck Sells 1,100 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Stock

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) CAO Jonathan Buck sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total value of $223,828.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $658,054.32. This represents a 25.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Down 1.1%

MSA stock opened at $197.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $177.32 and its 200-day moving average is $170.53. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a twelve month low of $127.86 and a twelve month high of $208.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $510.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.62 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 24.48% and a net margin of 14.88%.During the same period last year, the business earned $2.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is 29.94%.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety Incorporporated

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,792,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $607,365,000 after buying an additional 82,305 shares during the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 1,811,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $290,115,000 after acquiring an additional 106,349 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 899,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,971,000 after acquiring an additional 74,410 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 764,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $122,460,000 after purchasing an additional 9,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. M&G PLC now owns 728,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $116,596,000 after buying an additional 4,899 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSA. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings raised MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $186.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. National Bank Financial set a $235.00 target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.17.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company’s offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA’s products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.

Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.