Insider Selling: Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) CEO Sells 2,518 Shares of Stock

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $286,095.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ MLAB traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $112.68. 50,866 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,525. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.86 and a 52-week high of $141.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.81. The firm has a market cap of $609.60 million, a PE ratio of -2.39 and a beta of 0.85.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.55. Mesa Laboratories had a negative net margin of 111.89% and a positive return on equity of 18.95%. The business had revenue of $58.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.90 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 7.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mesa Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently -1.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Mesa Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Mesa Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MLAB. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 741 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $302,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.60% of the company's stock.

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.

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