Royce & Associates LP Decreases Position in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)

Royce & Associates LP decreased its holdings in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Free Report) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,118 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 16,089 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 4.99% of Mesa Laboratories worth $32,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,444 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 4,698 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 246.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,411 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $132,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 382,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $50,487,000 after acquiring an additional 5,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,888,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company's stock.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Mesa Laboratories stock traded up $1.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $75.62. The stock had a trading volume of 61,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,667. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.25. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.95 and a 12-month high of $155.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $415.91 million, a P/E ratio of -204.38 and a beta of 0.86.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Mesa Laboratories's payout ratio is currently -172.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $45,840.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,192.96. This trade represents a 45.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Sakys sold 642 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,249,448.80. The trade was a 4.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,053 shares of company stock valued at $296,507. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

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.