Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 7,943 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Baillie Gifford & Co. cut its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 122,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,943 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 0.31% of MSA Safety worth $22,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in MSA Safety by 30.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,151,000 after purchasing an additional 6,191 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 35.3% during the first quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 122,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,792,000 after buying an additional 32,054 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in MSA Safety by 231.0% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 63,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,294,000 after buying an additional 44,625 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 80.9% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 17,173 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,323,000 after acquiring an additional 7,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in MSA Safety during the 1st quarter worth $3,625,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $176.92. 100,172 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 147,769. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $185.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $147.35 and a 52 week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $462.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.30 million. Analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.00, for a total transaction of $745,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,039,117. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSA shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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 MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th.

About MSA Safety

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.