Cerity Partners LLC Has $1.15 Million Stock Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 881 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $1,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aristides Capital LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 1,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in MSA Safety by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,640,000 after purchasing an additional 6,380 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 72,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,072,000 after acquiring an additional 28,914 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in MSA Safety in the fourth quarter worth $3,613,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in MSA Safety by 609.0% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 52,599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,719,000 after buying an additional 45,180 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSA Safety Stock Up 1.2 %

MSA stock opened at $144.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $151.23 and a 200-day moving average of $162.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $127.86 and a fifty-two week high of $200.61.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on MSA Safety from $175.00 to $161.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $194.20.

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.