Strategic Investment Advisors MI Invests $623,000 in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Strategic Investment Advisors MI acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $623,000.

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

Insider Activity at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In related news, CFO Julie A. Beck purchased 448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $158.69 per share, with a total value of $71,093.12. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at $606,989.25. This represents a 13.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $235.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.60.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of MSA stock opened at $174.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.05. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a twelve month low of $151.10 and a twelve month high of $208.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 3.17. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55 and a beta of 0.95.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.26. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 24.54%. The firm had revenue of $503.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.86 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This is a boost from MSA Safety Incorporporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is currently 29.19%.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

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.