Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 20,000 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.58% of MSA Safety worth $38,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSA. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in MSA Safety by 19.5% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in MSA Safety by 37.5% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in MSA Safety by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $796,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in MSA Safety by 36.1% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 24,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,192,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in MSA Safety by 58.6% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total value of $761,389.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,593,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other MSA Safety 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,540,912.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total transaction of $761,389.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,593,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,504 shares of company stock valued at $1,017,991 over the last three months. 6.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MSA opened at $185.38 on Monday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1-year low of $122.57 and a 1-year high of $196.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $185.75 and a 200 day moving average of $171.80. The firm has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 127.85 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.18. MSA Safety had a net margin of 3.28% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $495.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.