Mesa Laboratories, Inc. $MLAB Shares Purchased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. by 27.1%, owning 17,256 shares valued at approximately $2,048,000.
• Recent insider sales included SVP Brian David Archbold and CFO John Sakys, who sold shares worth a total of approximately $108,191, representing decreases in their ownership positions.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16, with a completion date on September 15th and an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,256 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 3,679 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.32% of Mesa Laboratories worth $2,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 191.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 151,862 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $20,026,000 after acquiring an additional 99,819 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 1,390.4% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 34,399 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,536,000 after acquiring an additional 32,091 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,305,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 14,805.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 18,036 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 17,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 68,474 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $9,030,000 after purchasing an additional 14,863 shares during the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mesa Laboratories

In other news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 472 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $45,840.64. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,192.96. This represents a 45.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Sakys sold 642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $62,351.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 12,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,249,448.80. This represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,053 shares of company stock worth $296,507. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $100.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mesa Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $113.50.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of MLAB stock opened at $68.87 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $82.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.66. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a one year low of $55.45 and a one year high of $155.12. The firm has a market cap of $378.79 million, a P/E ratio of -491.93 and a beta of 0.83.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Mesa Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently -457.14%.

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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