Man Group plc Cuts Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Man Group plc lessened its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 85.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 96,538 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $2,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,825,000 after buying an additional 22,190 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $331,503,000 after buying an additional 173,210 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,504,000 after buying an additional 674,560 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,131,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $187,573,000 after buying an additional 271,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 806,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,718,000 after buying an additional 24,733 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Price Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $158.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97 and a beta of 0.96. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $127.86 and a 1 year high of $200.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. MSA Safety’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MSA. DA Davidson cut their price target on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price objective on MSA Safety in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $4,839,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 35,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. This trade represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.