Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $418,000 Stock Position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 21,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Pier Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 60,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,063,000 after acquiring an additional 2,162 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth approximately $310,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,825,000 after purchasing an additional 22,190 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 74,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,952 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSA Safety Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $149.77 on Thursday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $144.12 and a 12-month high of $200.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.49. 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 (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.