New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 2,760 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 152,584 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,760 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.39% of MSA Safety Incorporporated worth $22,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 39.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 682 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 869 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 1st quarter valued at about $165,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson cut their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $185.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $4,839,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 35,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,710,889.32. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

NYSE:MSA traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $174.85. 141,901 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 188,264. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a one year low of $127.86 and a one year high of $197.02. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $166.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 27.65%. The company had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $402.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from MSA Safety Incorporporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. MSA Safety Incorporporated's dividend payout ratio is 29.24%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated 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.