MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,543 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.20% of MSA Safety worth $13,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,550,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 25,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,970,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total value of $56,577.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,363. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other MSA Safety news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total value of $761,389.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,593,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total transaction of $56,577.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,363. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,504 shares of company stock worth $1,017,991 in the last quarter. 6.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $180.30 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.35 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.38. MSA Safety Incorporated has a twelve month low of $122.57 and a twelve month high of $196.02.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $428.38 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 3.28% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.