AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.51 Million Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,686 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MSA shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In other 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA stock opened at $157.75 on Monday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $153.79 and a 52-week high of $200.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.58.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. As a group, analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is 28.29%.

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.