Impax Asset Management Group plc Grows Stock Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 28.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 45,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $7,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,131,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in MSA Safety by 67.6% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 23,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,147,000 after buying an additional 9,433 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 62.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,959,000 after buying an additional 6,384 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 124,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,468,000 after buying an additional 26,470 shares during the period. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth approximately $362,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of 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 issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the 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 directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA stock opened at $160.92 on Tuesday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a twelve month low of $153.79 and a twelve month high of $200.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.67.

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

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.