Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Stock Price

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $120.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

MLAB opened at $102.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $560.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.22 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.32. Mesa Laboratories has a twelve month low of $83.68 and a twelve month high of $155.12.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently -172.97%.

Insider Activity at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 21,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.91, for a total transaction of $2,602,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,369,887.67. The trade was a 32.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 501.4% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 427 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Amundi lifted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 81.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

About Mesa Laboratories

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.