Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $4.56 Million Stock Position in Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,292 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.65% of Mesa Laboratories worth $4,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MLAB. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 6.5% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 1,588 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 4.0% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 2,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 6.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 35.2% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 741 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $286,095.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $187,375.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MLAB opened at $100.86 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $122.05 and its 200-day moving average is $114.66. The company has a market capitalization of $547.77 million, a PE ratio of -2.21 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.70. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. has a 52 week low of $83.68 and a 52 week high of $141.17.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MLAB shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock.

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.