Lazard Asset Management LLC Invests $1.80 Million in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. $MLAB

Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 20,328 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 5,366.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 328 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 30.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,029 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 432.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 842 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Sakys sold 2,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $253,016.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,770,757.50. This represents a 12.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO Lyndsey Elizabeth Crennen sold 442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $39,559.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,790. This trade represents a 17.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 8,277 shares of company stock worth $770,122 in the last ninety days. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mesa Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of MLAB opened at $104.43 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.45 and a twelve month high of $113.99. The company has a market cap of $584.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.03 and a beta of 0.92.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $63.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.21 million. Mesa Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.96% and a net margin of 2.69%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.31) earnings per share.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is 53.33%.

Mesa Laboratories 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.