Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 11,300 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.18% of MSA Safety worth $11,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in 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. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 120.6% during the 4th 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 lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its position in MSA Safety by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $143.11. The stock had a trading volume of 9,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,640. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $151.23 and a 200-day moving average of $162.74. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $127.86 and a 12-month high of $200.61.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on MSA Safety from $175.00 to $161.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $194.20.

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.