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

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 437,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,836 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.11% of MSA Safety worth $77,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 0.4% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 17,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,437,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 1.3% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in MSA Safety by 4.3% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,052 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in MSA Safety by 7.3% during the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in MSA Safety by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $173.56 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 12-month low of $157.34 and a 12-month high of $200.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $173.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.40. The firm has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.