SG Americas Securities LLC Buys New Stake in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,327 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 643.8% during the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 64,776 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,108,000 after acquiring an additional 56,067 shares in the last quarter. Meros Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,456,000. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,606,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 131,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,444,000 after buying an additional 8,722 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $596,000. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MLAB. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Mesa Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

Mesa Laboratories stock opened at $135.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.96. The stock has a market cap of $735.14 million, a P/E ratio of -2.88 and a beta of 0.85. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.86 and a 12-month high of $141.17.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.55. Mesa Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 18.95% and a negative net margin of 111.89%. The company had revenue of $58.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.90 million. Equities analysts expect that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 7.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently -1.36%.

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.