Aristides Capital LLC Grows Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Aristides Capital LLC increased its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 60.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MSA Safety by 120.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $134.16 on Monday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a twelve month low of $131.01 and a twelve month high of $200.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $157.11 and a 200 day moving average of $165.80. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 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, equities research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 yield of 1.52%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 28.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Two 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.