Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys 17,052 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 767,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,052 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $127,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,894,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 169,168 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $97,923,000 after buying an additional 150,402 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $299,939,000 after buying an additional 40,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,034,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSA Safety Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $163.83 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $153.79 and a 52-week high of $200.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $163.52 and its 200 day moving average is $170.46. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MSA shares. DA Davidson started coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley started coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.