MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,006 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.09% of MSA Safety worth $5,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 120.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 97.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. B. Riley assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE MSA opened at $158.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.97. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1-year low of $153.79 and a 1-year high of $200.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 28.29%.

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.