Martin & Co. Inc. TN Reduces Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Martin & Co. Inc. TN trimmed its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 761 shares during the quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $3,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 486.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 23.5% in 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. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 690.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.50.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $158.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $165.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.47. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $153.79 and a fifty-two week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. Equities research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 29.48%.

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.