Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Shares Up 9.3% – What’s Next?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) traded up 9.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $110.22 and last traded at $110.22. 49,714 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 20% from the average session volume of 41,432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $592.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.39 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.31 and its 200-day moving average is $114.51.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is -1.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $286,095.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. This trade represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,973,000 after buying an additional 3,119 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 9.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 214,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,809,000 after acquiring an additional 18,128 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its position in Mesa Laboratories by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 191,976 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,732 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 10.9% during 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 position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 131,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,444,000 after purchasing an additional 8,722 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.