Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Free Report) by 13.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,659 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 5,300 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.80% of Mesa Laboratories worth $5,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 18.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 4.4% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 14,805.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 18,036 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 17,915 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,888,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 1,939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $188,315.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 45,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,426.88. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $45,840.64. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,192.96. This represents a 45.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,053 shares of company stock worth $296,507. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

Mesa Laboratories stock traded down $5.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.05. 175,333 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 59,711. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.58 and a 52-week high of $155.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $385.28 million, a P/E ratio of -189.32 and a beta of 0.86.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Mesa Laboratories's payout ratio is currently -172.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MLAB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th.

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.