Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Trims Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning lowered its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 34.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,508 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 783 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the fourth quarter valued at $4,960,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 227,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,382,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $23,792,000 after buying an additional 32,054 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the fourth quarter valued at $9,944,000. Finally, abrdn plc increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 233,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,396,000 after buying an additional 9,949 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Up 0.0 %

MSA stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $184.74. 1,457 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 152,052. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $147.35 and a 12 month high of $196.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.00. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36 and a beta of 0.99. 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 (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.14. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 31.51% and a net margin of 14.81%. The company had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $428.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This is an increase from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.29, for a total value of $2,038,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,524,472. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.07% of the company’s stock.

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.