AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) by 16.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,631 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.33% of Mesa Laboratories worth $1,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,973,000 after acquiring an additional 3,119 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 2.5% in the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 194,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,324,000 after buying an additional 4,801 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 7.1% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 8.4% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 80,739 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,006,000 after buying an additional 6,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its position in Mesa Laboratories by 643.8% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 64,776 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,108,000 after purchasing an additional 56,067 shares during the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:MLAB opened at $122.48 on Friday. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.86 and a 1-year high of $141.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $125.94 and a 200 day moving average of $111.85. The firm has a market cap of $662.49 million, a PE ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

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

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLAB has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

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.