Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Acquires 900 Shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 115,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Proto Labs were worth $4,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 217.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 68,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after buying an additional 46,866 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Proto Labs during the 3rd quarter valued at $232,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 44,804.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 573,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,855,000 after buying an additional 572,596 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Proto Labs during the 3rd quarter valued at $753,000. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on PRLB shares. StockNews.com upgraded Proto Labs from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.67.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRLB opened at $36.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $878.54 million, a PE ratio of 55.78 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.60. Proto Labs, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.76 and a fifty-two week high of $46.73.

Proto Labs declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.