MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Sold by Aigen Investment Management LP

Aigen Investment Management LP trimmed its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 4.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 247 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of MSA Safety by 198.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 486.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 985.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the second quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MSA. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. B. Riley began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $207.50.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $175.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.23. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1-year low of $158.86 and a 1-year high of $200.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. The company had revenue of $432.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. MSA Safety’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.48%.

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.