Marietta Investment Partners LLC Sells 6,825 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 69.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,825 shares during the period. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in MSA Safety by 0.3% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 21,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,771,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in MSA Safety by 3.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in MSA Safety during the third quarter valued at $260,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in MSA Safety by 10.6% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 126,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,359,000 after buying an additional 12,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in MSA Safety by 6.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,170,000 after buying an additional 26,835 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.4 %

MSA stock opened at $149.90 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $148.23 and a 1-year high of $200.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $160.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.79.

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

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSA. DA Davidson began coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on 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 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $197.00.

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.