New York Life Investment Management LLC Purchases 265 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,960,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 227,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,382,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,944,000. abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 233,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,396,000 after purchasing an additional 9,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 0.4% during 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 buying an additional 14,236 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA stock opened at $187.66 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $187.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.62. The stock has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $134.26 and a 12 month high of $196.02.

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

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This is a positive change from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total transaction of $56,577.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 through this hyperlink. In other MSA Safety news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 11,000 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.29, for a total value of $2,038,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,524,472. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,363. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,504 shares of company stock worth $3,056,181. 6.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.