Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Decreases Stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp cut its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) by 17.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,628 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated were worth $2,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 3,400.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 397.7% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 115.4% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.50.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $160.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12-month low of $127.86 and a 12-month high of $182.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $161.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.88. The company has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 0.96.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.04. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 25.24%. The business had revenue of $468.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $461.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.5625 dividend. This represents a $2.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from MSA Safety Incorporporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.00, for a total transaction of $53,613.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,434 shares in the company, valued at $713,874. This trade represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company’s offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA’s products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.

Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.