Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Stake in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) by 6.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,354 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of Proto Labs worth $649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRLB. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 64.0% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 11,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,336 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 17.9% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 12,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,969 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 435,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,463,000 after buying an additional 106,423 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,110,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,305,000 after purchasing an additional 130,670 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PRLB. StockNews.com lowered Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Proto Labs Price Performance

NYSE PRLB opened at $28.18 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.10. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.01 and a 12 month high of $41.87. The company has a market capitalization of $713.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60 and a beta of 1.31.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.03. Proto Labs had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $125.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. Proto Labs’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Bodor acquired 3,480 shares of Proto Labs stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.68 per share, for a total transaction of $99,806.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,319,581.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.