Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Trading Down 3.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) traded down 3.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $131.21 and last traded at $131.25. 17,514 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 41,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLAB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $712.82 million, a PE ratio of -2.88 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $120.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.49.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is -1.40%.

Insider Transactions at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $286,095.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MLAB. Meros Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $2,456,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 9.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 214,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,809,000 after acquiring an additional 18,128 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 38.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 62,609 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,130,000 after purchasing an additional 17,450 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Mesa Laboratories by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 165,955 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $19,722,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 131,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,444,000 after buying an additional 8,722 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc develops, designs, manufactures, sells, and services life sciences tools and quality control products and services in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The Sterilization and Disinfection Control segment offers biological, chemical, and cleaning indicators, used to assess the effectiveness of sterilization decontamination, disinfection, and cleaning processes in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and healthcare industries.