Insider Buying: Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Director Buys 3,500 Shares of Stock

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) Director Shiraz Shabanali Ladiwala acquired 3,500 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $72.23 per share, with a total value of $252,805.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $615,616.29. This represents a 69.68% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of MLAB traded down $14.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 301,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.20. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.45 and a fifty-two week high of $131.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $404.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.42 and a beta of 0.85.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $65.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.23 million. Mesa Laboratories had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 22.02%. On average, research analysts predict that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MLAB shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Mesa Laboratories from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mesa Laboratories from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLAB. Herald Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 300.0% in the third quarter. Herald Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,340,000 after purchasing an additional 37,500 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 218.0% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,268,000 after buying an additional 84,582 shares in the last quarter. Roubaix Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $5,137,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $452,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in Mesa Laboratories by 16.3% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,421 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mesa Laboratories

Mesa Laboratories, Inc (NASDAQ: MLAB) is a global provider of instrumentation products designed for critical process monitoring, testing and calibration. Headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, the company serves a diverse set of end markets including healthcare, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, energy and industrial sectors. With a focus on precision measurement and validation, Mesa Laboratories helps customers ensure regulatory compliance, product safety and operational efficiency across complex manufacturing and sterilization processes.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses biological and chemical indicators for sterilization process validation, digital data loggers and sensors for environmental monitoring, and optical gas analyzers with sample-conditioning solutions for oil, gas and petrochemical applications.