Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires Shares of 30,368 MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 30,368 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $5,034,000. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.08% of MSA Safety as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 78.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 486.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% in 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 period. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 690.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in MSA Safety by 985.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 803 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MSA. B. Riley began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $197.00.

MSA Safety Price Performance

NYSE:MSA traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $158.30. The company had a trading volume of 166,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,752. The company has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 1.00. 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 Incorporated has a 52-week low of $153.79 and a 52-week high of $200.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $164.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.96.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (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, research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 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.