Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. Has $1.54 Million Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 892 shares during the quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $1,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

MSA traded down $0.87 on Wednesday, hitting $175.78. 20,914 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 142,417. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $142.60 and a 52 week high of $196.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $187.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This is a positive change from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is 30.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSA Safety news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total transaction of $761,389.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,593,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other MSA Safety news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total transaction of $761,389.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,593,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total value of $56,577.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,363. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,404 shares of company stock worth $2,856,157 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.07% of the company’s stock.

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.