Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 1,892 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 24.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,706 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,892 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in MSA Safety were worth $1,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 120.6% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $149.90. The company had a trading volume of 670,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,680. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $160.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.02. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $148.18 and a 12 month high of $200.61. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.99.

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

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $197.00.

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.