Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 11,180 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.18% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $17,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,158,926 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,136,938,000 after purchasing an additional 60,497 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 135,927.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,740,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $736,819,000 after buying an additional 3,738,018 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,130,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $419,601,000 after acquiring an additional 41,421 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,808,002 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $330,231,000 after acquiring an additional 47,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 673,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $124,394,000 after acquiring an additional 38,827 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRL shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.77.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of CRL stock opened at $155.60 on Friday. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 1,037.35, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.79 and a 52-week high of $273.32.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Charles River Laboratories International

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).