New York Life Investment Management LLC Acquires 265 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 68.9% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 223,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,219,000 after acquiring an additional 91,100 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,132,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,233,000 after purchasing an additional 87,707 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in MSA Safety in the 4th quarter valued at $13,126,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in MSA Safety by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 281,558 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,388,000 after buying an additional 67,902 shares during the period. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth $9,944,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.50.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $187.66 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $187.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.54. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $134.26 and a fifty-two week high of $196.02.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $428.38 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 31.51% and a net margin of 14.81%. MSA Safety’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total value of $56,577.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,363. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total value of $56,577.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $650,363. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total value of $200,024.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,912.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,504 shares of company stock worth $3,056,181 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.07% of the company’s stock.

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.