Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272,980 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.53% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $50,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 135,927.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,740,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $736,819,000 after purchasing an additional 3,738,018 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter valued at $42,776,000. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 426,767 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $78,781,000 after buying an additional 126,372 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 250,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,573,000 after buying an additional 90,000 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 21.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 482,745 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $95,086,000 after acquiring an additional 85,759 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $177.02 on Wednesday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.79 and a 1 year high of $274.77. The firm has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,180.13, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.18.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, CEO James C. Foster acquired 6,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at $30,302,271.39. This represents a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair cut Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.31.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing).