Jonathan Buck Sells 1,100 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Stock

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) CAO Jonathan Buck sold 1,100 shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $223,828.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,054.32. This represents a 25.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $202.25. The stock had a trading volume of 23,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,477. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1 year low of $127.86 and a 1 year high of $208.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $175.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.14. The company has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $510.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.62 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 14.88% and a return on equity of 24.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 39.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 47,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,953,000 after purchasing an additional 13,501 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the first quarter worth $501,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 44.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 38.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 96.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSA. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.20.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company’s offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA’s products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.

Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.