Trillium Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Trillium Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,301 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,013 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned 0.11% of MSA Safety worth $7,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in MSA Safety by 120.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

MSA has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. DA Davidson started coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA stock traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $151.15. 145,575 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 157,572. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $148.23 and a 12 month high of $200.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $160.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.69.

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

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio is 28.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

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.