MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Sold by Aigen Investment Management LP

Aigen Investment Management LP decreased its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 55.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,698 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSA. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in MSA Safety by 97.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in MSA Safety by 81.3% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank raised its position in MSA Safety by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $157.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12 month low of $153.79 and a 12 month high of $200.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.64.

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

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 28.29%.

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.