Farther Finance Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 285 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSA. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the 4th quarter worth about $43,689,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the 4th quarter worth about $29,894,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $138,658,000 after acquiring an additional 169,168 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 150,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 651,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,977,000 after acquiring an additional 131,458 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSA Safety Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MSA opened at $151.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $148.59 and a fifty-two week high of $200.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.14.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. Analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSA Safety has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

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.