Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Mesa Laboratories by 23.1% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,928 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 67,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 9,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 3,902 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $341,000. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,347,000. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of MLAB opened at $110.18 on Thursday. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.86 and a 52 week high of $172.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $593.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 648.16 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.74.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.46 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 firm had revenue of $53.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.90 million. On average, analysts expect that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 376.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock 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.