MQS Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,561 Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,072.7% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 258 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 362.5% in the 1st quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 259 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of CRL opened at $205.79 on Friday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.65 and a fifty-two week high of $275.00. The firm has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $209.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.41. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CRL shares. UBS Group reduced 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. Baird R W lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho started coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.93.

Charles River Laboratories International 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).