Northern Trust Corp Increases Holdings in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 281,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,314 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.15% of Proto Labs worth $11,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Proto Labs by 93.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 139,890 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,109,000 after acquiring an additional 67,449 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Proto Labs by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position 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 worth $3,728,000 after acquiring an additional 80,558 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Proto Labs by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 78,783 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,080,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Proto Labs by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 118,889 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,647,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRLB traded down $2.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $37.41. 267,029 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 235,078. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.76 and a 52 week high of $46.73. The company has a market cap of $889.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.55 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.88.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Proto Labs announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 purchase up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PRLB. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.67.

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.