Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 292,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $8,587,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 1.19% of Proto Labs as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Proto Labs during the second quarter worth about $7,535,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 13.3% in the second 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 last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Proto Labs by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 435,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,463,000 after purchasing an additional 106,423 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 46,866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.54% of the company's stock.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRLB traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.37. 193,490 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 202,006. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.67. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.89 and a beta of 1.45. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.75 and a 52 week high of $42.66.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.15. Proto Labs had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 3.49%. The firm had revenue of $125.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRLB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on shares of Proto Labs from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Proto Labs

In other news, CEO Robert Bodor purchased 3,480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.68 per share, for a total transaction of $99,806.40. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,319,581.04. This trade represents a 4.50 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Proto Labs 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.