Pullen Investment Management LLC Purchases New Shares in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Pullen Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 16,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,566,000. MSA Safety Incorporporated makes up 1.4% of Pullen Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.3% during the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 824,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,892,000 after acquiring an additional 10,858 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.4% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 156,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,893,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the third quarter worth about $782,000. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the third quarter valued at about $15,282,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 6.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 449,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $75,244,000 after purchasing an additional 28,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $186.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety Incorporporated has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $223,828.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,054.32. This represents a 25.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

Shares of MSA stock opened at $164.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30 and a beta of 1.05. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a one year low of $127.86 and a one year high of $208.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 3.01.

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

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is 29.94%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MSA Safety Incorporporated 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.