HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 35.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,713 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,698 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $1,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRL. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the 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 acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Foster acquired 6,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at $30,302,271.39. This represents a 3.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.77.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of CRL opened at $161.57 on Wednesday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.79 and a twelve month high of $273.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,077.13, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $165.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.30.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $983.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International Company 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).