Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Makes New $282,000 Investment in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 651,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $107,977,000 after buying an additional 131,458 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 480,195 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $79,602,000 after purchasing an additional 43,758 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in MSA Safety by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in MSA Safety by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,706 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 100.7% during the 4th quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 42,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,091,000 after buying an additional 21,462 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company'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 transaction of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA traded down $3.83 on Friday, reaching $148.07. 176,583 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 164,419. The firm has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $147.77 and a 12 month high of $200.61. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $159.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.03. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. Equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.29%.

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.