Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in MSA Safety were worth $1,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 770,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $144,642,000 after purchasing an additional 22,366 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 3.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 738,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,695,000 after buying an additional 22,979 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in MSA Safety by 43.5% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 440,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,086,000 after acquiring an additional 133,373 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the second quarter worth approximately $60,236,000. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 239,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, B. Riley started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock.

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $173.80 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $172.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.03. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $160.02 and a 52-week high of $200.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $449.95 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 29.48%.

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.