Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,836 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 437,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,836 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.11% of MSA Safety worth $77,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSA. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 770,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $144,642,000 after buying an additional 22,366 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 219.8% during the 2nd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 306,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,610,000 after buying an additional 210,968 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in MSA Safety by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 114,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,405,000 after acquiring an additional 12,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $202.50.

MSA Safety Price Performance

MSA Safety stock opened at $165.37 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $160.02 and a 12-month high of $200.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $171.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $432.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 29.48%.

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.