MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Stake Lessened by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC cut its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 25,862 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,624 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $4,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in MSA Safety by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 770,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $144,642,000 after purchasing an additional 22,366 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 738,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,695,000 after buying an additional 22,979 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in MSA Safety by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 440,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,086,000 after acquiring an additional 133,373 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in MSA Safety by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,170,000 after acquiring an additional 26,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new position in MSA Safety during the 2nd quarter worth $60,236,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $174.41 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $160.02 and a 52-week high of $200.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $432.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $449.95 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 15.16%. MSA Safety’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is 29.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $205.00.

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.