Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 703 Shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) by 764.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Proto Labs were worth $31,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Proto Labs in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $87,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Proto Labs in the fourth quarter valued at $192,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS acquired a new position in Proto Labs during the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the fourth quarter valued at about $235,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Proto Labs Stock Up 0.2 %

Proto Labs stock opened at $35.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $835.55 million, a PE ratio of 54.08 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $36.15 and its 200 day moving average is $37.54. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.76 and a 12-month high of $46.73.

Proto Labs announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 9.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRLB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.