MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 437,803 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,836 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.11% of MSA Safety worth $77,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSA. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in MSA Safety by 198.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 486.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. Kowal Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety in the 2nd quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in MSA Safety in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair raised shares of MSA Safety to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. B. Riley assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $207.50.

MSA Safety Trading Up 0.4 %

MSA Safety stock traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $173.56. 115,721 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,196. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $173.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.33. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $157.34 and a fifty-two week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $432.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $449.95 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. MSA Safety's revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.48%.

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.