Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,890 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSA. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,939,000 after purchasing an additional 40,569 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in MSA Safety by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,658,000 after purchasing an additional 169,168 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $78,086,000 after buying an additional 133,373 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in MSA Safety by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,170,000 after acquiring an additional 26,835 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in MSA Safety by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 154,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,332,000 after buying an additional 3,749 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Finally, B. Riley started coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.50.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $162.82 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $168.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.37. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $153.79 and a one year high of $200.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 1.00.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 29.48%.

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.