Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $3.93 Million Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 23,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,930,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter valued at $29,894,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,658,000 after acquiring an additional 169,168 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 590,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,923,000 after acquiring an additional 150,402 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,939,000 after acquiring an additional 40,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth $5,034,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

MSA Safety stock opened at $158.00 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.97. MSA Safety Incorporated has a twelve month low of $153.79 and a twelve month high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. Research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

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.