Driehaus Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned 0.61% of MSA Safety worth $44,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSA. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 198.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 50.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter worth approximately $142,000. Allegheny Financial Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in MSA Safety during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MSA shares. William Blair upgraded MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In related news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.00, for a total value of $745,605.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,039,117. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSA Safety Trading Down 1.5 %

MSA Safety stock opened at $176.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $147.35 and a 12 month high of $200.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.37.

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

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is 30.22%.

MSA Safety Company 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.