StockNews.com Upgrades Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) to Buy

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of 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 Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MLAB stock opened at $118.84 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $642.92 million, a P/E ratio of -2.56 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $124.64 and a 200-day moving average of $114.69. Mesa Laboratories has a 12-month low of $82.86 and a 12-month high of $141.17.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is -1.38%.

Insider Activity 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 value of $286,095.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,213,794.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $187,375.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of Mesa Laboratories 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its position in Mesa Laboratories by 643.8% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 64,776 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,108,000 after acquiring an additional 56,067 shares in the last quarter. Meros Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,456,000. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,606,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 131,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,444,000 after buying an additional 8,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $596,000. Institutional investors own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

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.