Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Acquires 778 Shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mesa Laboratories were worth $912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $272,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 578,463 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $60,606,000 after purchasing an additional 48,253 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276 shares during the period. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,849,000. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 109,496 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,505,000 after buying an additional 32,412 shares during the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MLAB traded up $1.39 on Friday, reaching $103.19. 19,542 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,456. The company has a fifty day moving average of $105.02 and a 200-day moving average of $99.71. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.86 and a twelve month high of $172.80. The company has a market capitalization of $556.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 598.86 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.01). Mesa Laboratories had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 0.45%. The business had revenue of $53.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.90 million. On average, research analysts predict that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 376.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th.

Mesa Laboratories Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells life sciences tools and quality control products and services in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Clinical Genomics, Sterilization and Disinfection Control, Biopharmaceutical Development, and Calibration Solutions.