Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 247,795 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $32,677,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 4.56% of Mesa Laboratories at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 283.8% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 9,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 7,167 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $1,888,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 382,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $50,487,000 after purchasing an additional 5,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mesa Laboratories

In other Mesa Laboratories news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 21,000 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.91, for a total value of $2,602,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,369,887.67. The trade was a 32.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MLAB traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $112.01. The stock had a trading volume of 40,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,136. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.64. The company has a market capitalization of $608.66 million, a PE ratio of -2.42 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.68 and a 1 year high of $155.12.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.66. Mesa Laboratories had a negative net margin of 104.92% and a positive return on equity of 30.23%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Mesa Laboratories's payout ratio is currently -1.38%.

Mesa Laboratories 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.