Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Reduces Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $2,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 22.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,439 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 78.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,715,000 after buying an additional 4,259 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the 3rd quarter valued at about $198,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 62.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 27.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,658,000 after acquiring an additional 169,168 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MSA shares. DA Davidson began coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased 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 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.com, MSA Safety presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of MSA stock opened at $143.93 on Monday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1-year low of $127.86 and a 1-year high of $200.61. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96 and a beta of 0.97. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.81.

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

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.