Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Here's What Happened

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Monday . 89,339 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 25% from the previous session's volume of 71,578 shares.The stock last traded at $95.35 and had previously closed at $103.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $495.26 million, a PE ratio of -245.38 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Mesa Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently -172.97%.

Insider Transactions at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 472 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $45,840.64. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $54,192.96. The trade was a 45.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $62,351.04. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,053 shares of company stock worth $296,507. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. State of Wyoming raised its position in Mesa Laboratories by 501.4% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 427 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Amundi increased its position in Mesa Laboratories by 81.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 661 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company's stock.

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.