Moody National Bank Trust Division Makes New $240,000 Investment in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 51.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSA Safety Price Performance

MSA traded up $2.99 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $184.79. 194,599 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 143,081. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $147.35 and a one year high of $196.02.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $428.38 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 31.51%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In related news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.29, for a total value of $2,038,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,524,472. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.07% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.