Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) Shares Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) by 109.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,407 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.22% of Proto Labs worth $2,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PRLB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,300,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,851,000 after acquiring an additional 68,006 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Proto Labs by 71.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 738,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,871,000 after buying an additional 308,970 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Proto Labs by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 571,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,354,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. S Squared Technology LLC lifted its holdings in Proto Labs by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. S Squared Technology LLC now owns 307,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,001,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Proto Labs by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 281,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,009,000 after buying an additional 9,314 shares in the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Proto Labs from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Proto Labs Price Performance

NYSE PRLB opened at $36.55 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.83. The company has a market capitalization of $868.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.24 and a beta of 1.37. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.76 and a 12 month high of $46.73.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $126.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.71 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 3.31% and a return on equity of 2.44%. The company’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Proto Labs announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 9.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Proto Labs

Proto Labs, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital manufacturer of custom parts in the United States and Europe. The company offers injection molding; computer numerical control machining; three-dimensional printing; and sheet metal fabrication products. It serves developers and engineers, who use 3D computer-aided design software to design products across a range of end-markets.