Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Shares Up 3.9% on Insider Buying Activity

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)’s stock price rose 3.9% during trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $172.45 and last traded at $169.45. Approximately 274,567 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 1,035,599 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.02.

Specifically, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,064,198.54. This trade represents a 2.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Foster acquired 6,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $165.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,435.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. The trade was a 3.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $203.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.71.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,135.73, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $172.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 3rd quarter worth $601,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 482,745 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $95,086,000 after acquiring an additional 85,759 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,130,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $419,601,000 after acquiring an additional 41,421 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 46,018 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,064,000 after acquiring an additional 3,268 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 3rd quarter worth $966,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

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).