Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 78,237 Shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) by 39.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,034 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 78,237 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Proto Labs worth $4,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 348.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 212,914 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,323,000 after acquiring an additional 165,396 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Proto Labs in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,972,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Proto Labs by 544.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,728,000 after purchasing an additional 80,558 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Proto Labs by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,300,864 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,851,000 after purchasing an additional 68,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.54% of the company's stock.

Proto Labs Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:PRLB traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.28. 9,004 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 235,639. The company has a market capitalization of $886.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.17 and a beta of 1.37. Proto Labs, Inc. has a one year low of $25.76 and a one year high of $46.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.85.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. The business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Proto Labs declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PRLB. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Proto Labs Company Profile

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.