Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Stock Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,853 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,932 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $2,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRL. Impact Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter worth about $422,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 426,767 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $78,781,000 after buying an additional 126,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of CRL stock opened at $158.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $164.85 and its 200 day moving average is $182.96. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.79 and a 1-year high of $273.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,054.99, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, COO Birgit Girshick purchased 1,514 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total transaction of $715,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. This trade represents a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CRL. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. William Blair cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.77.

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).