Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 175 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $197.00.

MSA Safety Price Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $143.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $154.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.43. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $127.86 and a one year high of $200.61. 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 (NYSE:MSA) last released 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%. Equities analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

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

MSA Safety Company 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.