Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $148.00 and last traded at $144.35, with a volume of 16966 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $786.16 million, a P/E ratio of -3.18 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.81 and its 200-day moving average is $122.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1.40%.

Insider Activity at Mesa Laboratories

In other Mesa Laboratories news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $286,095.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,213,794.56. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,406 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 35,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,559,000 after acquiring an additional 6,292 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,444 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 357.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,837 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 6,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meros Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 33,240 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,317,000 after purchasing an additional 4,941 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.