Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Stock Price Up 9.3% - Here's What Happened

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 9.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $110.22 and last traded at $110.22. Approximately 49,714 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the average daily volume of 41,432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLAB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Mesa Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Up 8.2 %

The business's 50 day moving average is $121.64 and its 200 day moving average is $114.56. The company has a market capitalization of $592.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Mesa Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mesa Laboratories news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 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 ownership of the stock. 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 institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,397 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $40,973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,119 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 214,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $27,809,000 after purchasing an additional 18,128 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 191,976 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $24,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,732 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 165,955 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $19,722,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased 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 purchasing an additional 8,722 shares in the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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