Wedbush Securities Inc. Reduces Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Wedbush Securities Inc. trimmed its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,362 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 331 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRL. Prudential PLC bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the second quarter valued at approximately $409,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 135,175.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,411 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 5,407 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 2nd quarter valued at $110,000. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the second quarter valued at about $418,000. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 15.4% during the second quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 16,564 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $194.32 on Friday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.65 and a 52-week high of $275.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.20. The firm has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.37.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 10.83%. Equities analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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).