ProShare Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 164,642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,325 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.42% of MSA Safety worth $30,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in MSA Safety by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 198.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of MSA Safety by 50.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter worth about $142,000. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $181.01 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $181.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.51. The company has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.82 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $147.35 and a fifty-two week high of $200.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.45.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.04. MSA Safety had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 30.64%. The company had revenue of $462.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.30 million. Research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on MSA shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. William Blair upgraded MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.00, for a total value of $745,605.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,039,117. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.