Bank of New York Mellon Corp Raises Stock Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 767,634 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 17,052 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.95% of MSA Safety worth $127,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in MSA Safety by 486.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its position in MSA Safety by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MSA stock traded down $1.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $158.55. The stock had a trading volume of 57,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,802. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $163.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98 and a beta of 1.00. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $153.79 and a 52-week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. DA Davidson started coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $197.00.

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.