Magnetar Financial LLC Trims Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Magnetar Financial LLC trimmed its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 84.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,818 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MSA Safety by 120.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in MSA Safety by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $197.00.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $149.90 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.28 and a 200 day moving average of $167.69. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $148.23 and a 12 month high of $200.61. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

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.