Sei Investments Co. Purchases 36,914 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 89.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,368 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 36,914 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.20% of MSA Safety worth $12,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 3.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,245 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,640,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,170,000 after purchasing an additional 26,835 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 5.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,382,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in MSA Safety by 26.3% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in MSA Safety in the third quarter valued at $627,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Up 1.8 %

MSA stock traded up $2.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $149.77. 135,059 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 164,654. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $144.12 and a fifty-two week high of $200.61. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $158.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

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