APG Asset Management N.V. Has $282.41 Million Stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

APG Asset Management N.V. cut its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,641,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 225,743 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned 4.19% of MSA Safety Incorporporated worth $282,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at approximately $158,997,000. M&G PLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 5,607.2% during the 2nd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 722,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $121,338,000 after acquiring an additional 709,596 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,167,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 4,260.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 204,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,188,000 after acquiring an additional 199,628 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter valued at $27,988,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MSA shares. National Bank Financial set a $235.00 price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $186.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.17.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

MSA stock opened at $195.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $181.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.36. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1-year low of $127.86 and a 1-year high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $510.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.62 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 24.48% and a net margin of 14.88%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is currently 29.94%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $223,828.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,234 shares in the company, valued at $658,054.32. The trade was a 25.38% 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 owned by insiders.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company 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.