New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $26 Million Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21,558 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $26,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in MSA Safety by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 227,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,382,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc increased its stake in MSA Safety by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 233,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,396,000 after acquiring an additional 9,949 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,956,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in MSA Safety by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in MSA Safety by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.50.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE MSA opened at $188.78 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $186.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.72. The stock has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of 130.19 and a beta of 1.01. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $122.57 and a fifty-two week high of $196.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.36.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $495.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $467.52 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 3.28% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total transaction of $761,389.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,593,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other MSA Safety news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total transaction of $761,389.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,593,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total transaction of $200,024.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,540,912.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,504 shares of company stock valued at $1,017,991. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.