Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Cuts Stock Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC trimmed its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 953 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 60,501 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,917,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 111,995 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 8.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total value of $715,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,252,112.50. This represents a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 2.6 %

CRL opened at $171.27 on Friday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.79 and a fifty-two week high of $274.77. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,141.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $167.74 and a 200-day moving average of $184.59.

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

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).