Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $71.46 Million Stock Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 431,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,714 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.10% of MSA Safety worth $71,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter worth $29,894,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $138,658,000 after purchasing an additional 169,168 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in MSA Safety by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 590,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,923,000 after purchasing an additional 150,402 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,939,000 after purchasing an additional 40,569 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 51.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 97,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,303,000 after buying an additional 33,204 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSA has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. DA Davidson began coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Finally, B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $158.52 on Thursday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $153.79 and a 52-week high of $200.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $164.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 1.00.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly 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 28.62%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

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.