Vanguard Group Inc. Has $643.83 Million Stock Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,190 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.10% of MSA Safety worth $643,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSA. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,131,000. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth approximately $362,000. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in MSA Safety by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $70,345,000 after purchasing an additional 6,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 124,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,468,000 after buying an additional 26,470 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $148.07 on Monday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $147.77 and a one year high of $200.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $159.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. Analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

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.