Bank of America Corp DE Cuts Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,381 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.18% of MSA Safety worth $12,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSA. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in MSA Safety by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,504,000 after buying an additional 674,560 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth $72,693,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,131,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $187,573,000 after purchasing an additional 271,264 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth $43,689,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 554.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 284,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,170,000 after purchasing an additional 241,061 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $4,839,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at $5,710,889.32. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.80.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $158.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97 and a beta of 0.96. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $127.86 and a 52 week high of $200.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $150.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $402.60 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is a boost from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.24%.

About MSA Safety

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.