Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $258,000 Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 0.3% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 21,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,771,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in MSA Safety by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,799,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in MSA Safety by 78.4% during 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value 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. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE MSA opened at $150.42 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. MSA Safety Incorporated has a twelve month low of $148.59 and a twelve month high of $200.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.67.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. Sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.