Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $3.93 Million in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 23,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,930,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.06% of MSA Safety as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth about $29,894,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 27.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $138,658,000 after buying an additional 169,168 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 590,718 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $97,923,000 after buying an additional 150,402 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in MSA Safety by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $299,939,000 after buying an additional 40,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,034,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSA shares. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, 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 on the stock. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.00.

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Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other 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 directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MSA traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $149.90. 670,053 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,680. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.02. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $148.18 and a 12 month high of $200.61. 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 issued 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. MSA Safety's payout ratio is currently 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.