Select Equity Group L.P. Acquires 60,186 Shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. $MLAB

Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Free Report) by 439.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 73,897 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 60,186 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. owned approximately 1.36% of Mesa Laboratories worth $8,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 501.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 427 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $67,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,323 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,036 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.60% of the company's stock.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of MLAB traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $61.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 195,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,700. The firm has a market cap of $339.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -440.43 and a beta of 0.82. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.45 and a 1-year high of $155.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.02.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Mesa Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently -457.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MLAB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Mesa Laboratories from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mesa Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Mesa Laboratories from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $100.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.50.

Insider Activity at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, CFO John Sakys sold 642 shares of the business'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 value of $62,351.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,249,448.80. The trade was a 4.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 472 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,192.96. The trade was a 45.83% 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. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.