Martin & Co. Inc. TN Trims Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Martin & Co. Inc. TN decreased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 761 shares during the period. Martin & Co. Inc. TN owned about 0.06% of MSA Safety worth $3,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 486.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 690.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on MSA shares. B. Riley started coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSA Safety has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $202.50.

MSA Safety Price Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $158.28 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.47. The stock has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 1.00. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $153.79 and a 52 week high of $200.60.

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

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

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

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.