Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday after the company announced a dividend. Approximately 89,339 shares changed hands during mid-day 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.

The newly announced 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 0.69%. Mesa Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -172.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MLAB shares. Wall Street Zen cut Mesa Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. 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.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $505.41 million, a PE ratio of -246.88 and a beta of 0.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $188,315.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 45,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,450,426.88. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,192.96. This represents a 45.83% 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. 4.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 4.4% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,617,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,370,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 439.0% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 73,897 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $8,769,000 after purchasing an additional 60,186 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the first quarter worth $335,000. Hedge funds and other 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.