Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,714 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 431,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,714 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $71,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSA. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in MSA Safety by 97.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 109,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,091,000 after buying an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the fourth quarter valued at $5,034,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 124,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,468,000 after acquiring an additional 26,470 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson started coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced 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 note on Tuesday. Finally, B. Riley started 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 for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $158.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $164.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 1.00. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52 week low of $153.79 and a 52 week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 15.76%. Analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.99 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.