Wasatch Advisors LP Takes $4.53 Million Position in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. $MLAB

Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 51,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $4,530,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MLAB. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 5,366.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 328 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,029 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 432.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 842 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of MLAB stock opened at $102.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $101.84 and a 200-day moving average of $91.43. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a one year low of $55.45 and a one year high of $113.99. The company has a market cap of $563.92 million, a P/E ratio of 85.13 and a beta of 0.94.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $63.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.21 million. Mesa Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.96% and a net margin of 2.69%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.31) earnings per share.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $94.00.

Insider Activity at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, CFO John Sakys sold 2,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $253,016.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,770,757.50. This trade represents a 12.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 2,516 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $225,182.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,377 shares in the company, valued at $570,741.50. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,277 shares of company stock valued at $770,122. 4.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mesa Laboratories Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc (NASDAQ: MLAB) is a global provider of instrumentation products designed for critical process monitoring, testing and calibration. Headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, the company serves a diverse set of end markets including healthcare, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, energy and industrial sectors. With a focus on precision measurement and validation, Mesa Laboratories helps customers ensure regulatory compliance, product safety and operational efficiency across complex manufacturing and sterilization processes.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses biological and chemical indicators for sterilization process validation, digital data loggers and sensors for environmental monitoring, and optical gas analyzers with sample-conditioning solutions for oil, gas and petrochemical applications.