MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) CEO Nishan J. Vartanian Sells 11,000 Shares

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.29, for a total value of $2,038,190.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,524,472. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA stock opened at $183.93 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $187.56 and its 200-day moving average is $173.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 1.01. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $126.75 and a 52 week high of $196.02.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $428.38 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 31.51% and a net margin of 14.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSA Safety

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,960,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 227,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,382,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 233,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,396,000 after acquiring an additional 9,949 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,944,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,802,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $599,481,000 after acquiring an additional 14,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.