Bank of America Corp DE Boosts Stake in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) by 109.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.22% of Proto Labs worth $2,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 68,006 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Proto Labs by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 738,576 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,871,000 after purchasing an additional 308,970 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $22,354,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the period. S Squared Technology LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. S Squared Technology LLC now owns 307,003 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,001,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 281,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,009,000 after acquiring an additional 9,314 shares in the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRLB has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

Proto Labs Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of PRLB stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $37.66. 185,755 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 223,967. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $36.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.82. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.75 and a 12-month high of $46.73. The stock has a market cap of $895.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.94 and a beta of 1.37.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 2.44% and a net margin of 3.31%. The company had revenue of $126.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Proto Labs announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 9.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign 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.