MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 10,700 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $33,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 198.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at $142,000. Allegheny Financial Group LTD acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the first quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC bought a new position in MSA Safety during the second quarter valued at about $204,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.00, for a total value of $745,605.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,039,117. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSA has been the topic of several research reports. William Blair upgraded shares of MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

MSA Safety Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MSA traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $171.99. The stock had a trading volume of 129,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,292. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.91. The firm has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.48 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $147.35 and a fifty-two week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.04. MSA Safety had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 30.64%. The firm had revenue of $462.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.30 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.22%.

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.