Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $77.63 Million Stock Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 437,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,836 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $77,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in MSA Safety by 198.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in MSA Safety by 486.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD acquired a new position in MSA Safety during the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Kowal Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety during the second quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in MSA Safety during the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MSA shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair upgraded shares of MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $207.50.

MSA Safety Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $173.56 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $173.18 and a 200-day moving average of $180.40. The company has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.68. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 52-week low of $157.34 and a 52-week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $432.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 15.16%. MSA Safety’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 29.48%.

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.