PharVision Advisers LLC Makes New $230,000 Investment in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSA. Barclays PLC raised its position in MSA Safety by 62.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,959,000 after acquiring an additional 6,384 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in MSA Safety by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in MSA Safety by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in MSA Safety by 1,858.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 18,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 17,131 shares during the period. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth approximately $759,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $4,839,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. This trade represents a 45.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $158.37 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.51. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $127.86 and a 12-month high of $200.61. The stock has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. The company had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $402.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 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 Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on MSA Safety in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.80.

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.