Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

MLAB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Mesa Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

MLAB stock opened at $102.44 on Wednesday. Mesa Laboratories has a 1 year low of $83.68 and a 1 year high of $141.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $556.22 million, a P/E ratio of -2.25 and a beta of 0.87. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $123.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.86.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is -1.40%.

Insider Transactions at Mesa Laboratories

In other Mesa Laboratories news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 4.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 124,761 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $16,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Mesa Laboratories by 357.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,837 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after buying an additional 6,905 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $388,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Mesa Laboratories by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 214,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,809,000 after buying an additional 18,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $221,000. 90.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.