Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $384,000 Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 86.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,342 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in MSA Safety were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $299,939,000 after buying an additional 40,569 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 27.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $138,658,000 after acquiring an additional 169,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $127,251,000 after acquiring an additional 17,052 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 651,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,977,000 after purchasing an additional 131,458 shares during the period. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the business’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 transaction of $114,003.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $146.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. MSA Safety Incorporated has a twelve month low of $146.01 and a twelve month high of $200.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $158.83 and a 200-day moving average of $166.82.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. 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 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective 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. Two research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

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.