Cooke & Bieler LP Has $107.98 Million Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 651,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 131,458 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 1.66% of MSA Safety worth $107,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in MSA Safety during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,689,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,894,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $138,658,000 after purchasing an additional 169,168 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 590,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,923,000 after purchasing an additional 150,402 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 480,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,602,000 after purchasing an additional 43,758 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MSA shares. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $155.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.43. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $153.79 and a fifty-two week high of $200.61.

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

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.29%.

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.