51,233 Shares in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. $MLAB Acquired by Wasatch Advisors LP

Key Points

• Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories, acquiring 51,233 shares valued at about $4.53 million in the first quarter, giving it roughly 0.93% ownership of the company.
• Mesa Laboratories reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings per share of $1.53 missing estimates of $1.78 and revenue of $63.72 million coming in slightly below expectations.
• The stock has also seen recent insider selling and cautious analyst sentiment, with two Hold ratings, one Sell rating, and an average price target of $94, below the recent opening price of $102.16.

Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 51,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $4,530,000. Wasatch Advisors LP owned about 0.93% of Mesa Laboratories at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLAB. Boston Partners grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 86.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 213,376 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $16,752,000 after buying an additional 99,019 shares during the last quarter. Simcoe Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,794,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 153,352 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $12,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,794 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 144,606 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,352,000 after acquiring an additional 23,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 141,973 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,145,000 after acquiring an additional 18,592 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Mesa Laboratories from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $94.00.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MLAB opened at $102.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.45 and a 1 year high of $113.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $563.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.13 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $101.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.43.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.25). Mesa Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.96% and a net margin of 2.69%.The business had revenue of $63.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.21 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.31) earnings per share.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mesa Laboratories's payout ratio is 53.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Sakys sold 2,827 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $253,016.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,785 shares in the company, valued at $1,770,757.50. This trade represents a 12.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO Lyndsey Elizabeth Crennen sold 442 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $39,559.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,790. The trade was a 17.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 8,277 shares of company stock worth $770,122 in the last three months. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

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.

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