UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Decreases Stock Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 675,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 137,179 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 1.72% of MSA Safety worth $112,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 120.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in MSA Safety by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 869 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $4,839,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. The trade was a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSA Safety Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MSA stock opened at $157.79 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $127.86 and a 1 year high of $200.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.51. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. The business had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. MSA Safety’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. This is a positive change from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price objective on MSA Safety in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.80.

MSA Safety Company 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.