Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 68,006 Shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,300,864 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 68,006 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.31% of Proto Labs worth $50,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PRLB. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Proto Labs by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 738,576 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,871,000 after purchasing an additional 308,970 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 2.7% in the fourth 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 lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $12,001,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 244,987 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,711,000 after acquiring an additional 105,813 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in 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 valued at $8,323,000 after acquiring an additional 165,396 shares during the period. 84.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Proto Labs Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of PRLB stock traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.44. The stock had a trading volume of 18,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,597. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $35.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $937.53 million, a PE ratio of 60.68 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.71 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 3.31% and a return on equity of 2.44%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Proto Labs announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PRLB shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Proto Labs currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.