AlphaQuest LLC Decreases Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,686 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in MSA Safety were worth $1,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 0.3% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 21,267 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,771,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew 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. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,190 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 1.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,060 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSA shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MSA stock traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $149.51. 113,937 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 155,278. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $161.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.13. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $148.59 and a 12-month high of $200.61. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. On average, analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. MSA Safety's payout ratio is 28.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.