Eagle Asset Management Inc. Sells 33,963 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 16.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 33,963 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.45% of MSA Safety worth $30,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 198.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 486.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 985.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 803 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in MSA Safety during the second quarter worth $204,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the second quarter worth $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MSA. B. Riley began coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

MSA Safety Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of MSA traded up $3.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $174.98. The company had a trading volume of 253,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,167. The stock has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $173.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $160.02 and a 52 week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 15.16%. The firm had revenue of $432.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. MSA Safety's payout ratio is 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.