MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Sold by Fruth Investment Management

Fruth Investment Management decreased its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 625 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $2,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSA. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in MSA Safety by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 293,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,502,000 after buying an additional 86,225 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in MSA Safety by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,826,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $645,966,000 after buying an additional 23,526 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in MSA Safety by 332.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 9,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 7,298 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in MSA Safety during the 4th quarter valued at about $142,000. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 1st quarter valued at about $240,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In other news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 31,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,039,117. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSA has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair upgraded shares of MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $173.45 on Tuesday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a twelve month low of $147.35 and a twelve month high of $200.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $176.33 and a 200-day moving average of $183.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70 and a beta of 0.99.

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

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.22%.

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.