Stephens Inc. AR Grows Stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 126.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,463 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,055 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $1,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,046,467 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,638,290,000 after acquiring an additional 66,161 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,908,989 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $394,359,000 after acquiring an additional 31,359 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $346,821,000 after acquiring an additional 509,163 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.1% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,513,138 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $409,985,000 after acquiring an additional 45,079 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Group LP raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.3% during the first quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 1,182,268 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $320,336,000 after purchasing an additional 26,892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $151.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

NYSE:CRL opened at $182.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50-day moving average is $193.72 and its 200 day moving average is $209.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $166.87 and a 12 month high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board 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).