Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Lowers Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. trimmed its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned 0.05% of MSA Safety worth $3,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 120.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSA Safety presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

MSA stock opened at $150.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $148.59 and a 12-month high of $200.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86 and a beta of 0.99.

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

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.