Pier Capital LLC Acquires 2,162 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Pier Capital LLC lifted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,162 shares during the quarter. MSA Safety accounts for about 1.4% of Pier Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Pier Capital LLC owned approximately 0.15% of MSA Safety worth $10,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in MSA Safety during the 4th quarter valued at about $310,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $643,825,000 after purchasing an additional 22,190 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 74,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,423,000 after buying an additional 1,952 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 1,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at $1,774,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MSA shares. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $197.00.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $151.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $160.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.54. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $148.23 and a 52 week high of $200.61.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

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.