Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) Shares Sold by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates lessened its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) by 30.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 20,407 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.87% of Mesa Laboratories worth $4,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MLAB. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 4,999 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,073 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,587,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 4,523 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 924,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $235,751,000 after acquiring an additional 4,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ MLAB opened at $104.05 on Thursday. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.86 and a 12-month high of $187.75. The stock has a market cap of $560.83 million, a PE ratio of 612.09 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $103.33 and a 200 day moving average of $99.72.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.01). Mesa Laboratories had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The business had revenue of $53.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.90 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 376.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th.

About Mesa Laboratories

Mesa Laboratories, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells life sciences tools and quality control products and services in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Clinical Genomics, Sterilization and Disinfection Control, Biopharmaceutical Development, and Calibration Solutions.