Marietta Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 69.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,825 shares during the period. Marietta Investment Partners LLC's holdings in MSA Safety were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in MSA Safety by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $299,939,000 after purchasing an additional 40,569 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MSA Safety by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $138,658,000 after purchasing an additional 169,168 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 767,634 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $127,251,000 after purchasing an additional 17,052 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in MSA Safety by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 651,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $107,977,000 after purchasing an additional 131,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 590,718 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $97,923,000 after acquiring an additional 150,402 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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MSA Safety Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MSA traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $152.85. 220,996 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 158,038. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $148.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. As a group, research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.