First Trust Advisors LP Has $47.17 Million Stock Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 554.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 284,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 241,061 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.72% of MSA Safety worth $47,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth $1,131,000. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at about $362,000. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in MSA Safety by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,774,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,345,000 after acquiring an additional 6,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 124,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,468,000 after purchasing an additional 26,470 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction on 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 owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $175.00 to $161.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $194.20.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $149.42 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $150.29 and its 200-day moving average is $162.33. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1-year low of $127.86 and a 1-year high of $200.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.97.

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

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.