Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $17.91 Million Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 95,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $17,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at $69,067,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,252,000. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,771,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 1,601.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 312,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,443,000 after purchasing an additional 293,872 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in MSA Safety by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 293,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,502,000 after purchasing an additional 86,225 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSA. William Blair upgraded MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.00, for a total value of $745,605.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,039,117. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $176.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $185.11 and a 200-day moving average of $184.83. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $147.35 and a one year high of $200.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.04. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 30.64% and a net margin of 14.97%. The firm had revenue of $462.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.30 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.22%.

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.