Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases New Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,939,000 after acquiring an additional 40,569 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,658,000 after purchasing an additional 169,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 767,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,251,000 after buying an additional 17,052 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 651,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,977,000 after buying an additional 131,458 shares during the period. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 590,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,923,000 after buying an additional 150,402 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSA Safety Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $152.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $148.23 and a 1 year high of $200.61. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.43.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. Analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.29%.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MSA. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Company 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.