Farther Finance Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 285 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,689,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,894,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 27.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,658,000 after buying an additional 169,168 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 590,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,923,000 after buying an additional 150,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 651,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,977,000 after buying an additional 131,458 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSA shares. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $151.73 on Thursday. 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 $148.59 and a 1-year high of $200.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.14.

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

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

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.