Insider Buying: Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Director Acquires 1,315 Shares of Stock

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) Director R Tony Tripeny bought 1,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $76.00 per share, with a total value of $99,940.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $410,248. This trade represents a 32.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MLAB traded down $14.46 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.23. The company had a trading volume of 300,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,781. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.45 and a fifty-two week high of $131.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $404.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.42 and a beta of 0.85.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.66. Mesa Laboratories had a return on equity of 22.02% and a net margin of 1.51%.The firm had revenue of $65.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.23 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 28th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $94.00.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 17,733.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 597 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

Mesa Laboratories Company 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.