Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 826 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 826 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $3,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in MSA Safety by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $643,825,000 after acquiring an additional 22,190 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased 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 raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 27.6% in 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 767,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,251,000 after purchasing an additional 17,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 651,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,977,000 after purchasing an additional 131,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Price Performance

MSA Safety stock opened at $152.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18 and a beta of 0.99. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $148.23 and a one year high of $200.61. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.43.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued 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 return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid 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 1.34%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.00.

MSA Safety Company 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.