GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Free Report) by 14,805.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,036 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 17,915 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.33% of Mesa Laboratories worth $2,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLAB. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 38,359 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $5,058,000 after buying an additional 3,252 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its position in Mesa Laboratories by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 27,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,649,000 after acquiring an additional 5,560 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 62.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,844 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $32,677,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MLAB. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mesa Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 21,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.91, for a total transaction of $2,602,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,337 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ MLAB traded down $3.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $92.73. 153,553 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 44,663. The company's 50 day moving average price is $111.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.47. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 12 month low of $83.68 and a 12 month high of $155.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $506.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -250.62 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Mesa Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is -172.97%.

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.