Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 71.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.50.

MSA Safety Price Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $185.72 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $122.57 and a 52 week high of $196.02. The firm has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.08 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.36.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.18. MSA Safety had a net margin of 3.28% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business had revenue of $495.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. MSA Safety’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total transaction of $761,389.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,593,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total transaction of $56,577.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $650,363. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total transaction of $761,389.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,800 shares in the company, valued at $12,593,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,504 shares of company stock valued at $1,017,991. 6.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSA Safety 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.