Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MLAB. Evercore ISI upped 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 assumed coverage on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Down 2.1 %

Mesa Laboratories stock opened at $102.44 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $123.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.86. Mesa Laboratories has a 1-year low of $83.68 and a 1-year high of $141.17. The company has a market cap of $556.22 million, a PE 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.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $286,095.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $187,375.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLAB. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 393 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $70,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 35.2% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 741 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $183,000. 90.60% of the stock is currently 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.