Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $32.68 Million in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 247,795 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $32,677,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 4.56% of Mesa Laboratories as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its position in Mesa Laboratories by 283.8% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 9,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 7,167 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $1,888,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 382,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $50,487,000 after buying an additional 5,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.60% of the company's stock.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of MLAB traded up $4.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $113.04. The stock had a trading volume of 49,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,267. The firm has a market capitalization of $614.26 million, a PE ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 12 month low of $83.68 and a 12 month high of $155.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.35.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.66. Mesa Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 30.23% and a negative net margin of 104.92%. Analysts anticipate that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mesa Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently -1.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 21,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.91, for a total transaction of $2,602,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,369,887.67. The trade was a 32.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Mesa Laboratories 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.