Cerity Partners LLC Takes Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 7,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,278,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in MSA Safety in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in MSA Safety in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 71.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in MSA Safety in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in MSA Safety in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total value of $200,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,912.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,593,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total transaction of $200,024.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,912.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,504 shares of company stock valued at $1,017,991. 6.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $185.38 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $122.57 and a fifty-two week high of $196.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.85 and a beta of 1.01.

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

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.