Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 3,153 Shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) by 48.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,291 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,153 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Mesa Laboratories were worth $434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,755 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP increased its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP now owns 1,657 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 393 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of MLAB opened at $112.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $608.66 million, a PE ratio of -2.42 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average is $128.51 and its 200 day moving average is $127.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.71. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.68 and a fifty-two week high of $155.12.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.66. Mesa Laboratories had a negative net margin of 104.92% and a positive return on equity of 30.23%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued 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 0.57%. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently -1.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.