Mesa Laboratories, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.16 (NASDAQ:MLAB)

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 7th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of 0.16 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th.

Mesa Laboratories has a payout ratio of 5.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Mesa Laboratories to earn $8.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.3%.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:MLAB traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $90.31. 148,030 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,798. The firm's fifty day moving average is $105.60 and its 200-day moving average is $121.70. Mesa Laboratories has a 12-month low of $87.80 and a 12-month high of $155.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $493.09 million, a P/E ratio of -244.08 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MLAB shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Mesa Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mesa Laboratories news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 1,939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $188,315.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 45,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,426.88. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Sakys sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,865 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 3,053 shares of company stock worth $296,507 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $335,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 4.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,068 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 3.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 19,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,370,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Mesa Laboratories by 1.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 30,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,652,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.60% 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.