Insider Selling: MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) CAO Sells 717 Shares of Stock

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $161.73 on Thursday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $153.79 and a fifty-two week high of $200.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43 and a beta of 1.00.

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

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 869 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 21,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,771,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSA. B. Riley began coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson began coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSA Safety currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

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.