Trexquant Investment LP Makes New Investment in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 17,876 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,018,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of MSA Safety by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,550,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,958,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.50.

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MSA traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $187.63. 96,439 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 165,245. The business has a 50-day moving average of $188.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.51. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $136.43 and a 12-month high of $196.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80 and a beta of 1.01.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.14. MSA Safety had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 31.51%. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $428.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be 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 is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.22%.

Insider Activity

In other MSA Safety news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total value of $200,024.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,540,912.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total transaction of $200,024.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,540,912.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 11,000 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.29, for a total transaction of $2,038,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,524,472. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,504 shares of company stock worth $3,056,181 over the last three months. 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.