Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 66.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,375 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 114,347 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $12,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,046,467 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,638,290,000 after buying an additional 66,161 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,513,138 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $409,985,000 after acquiring an additional 45,079 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,251,618 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $258,559,000 after purchasing an additional 132,802 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 893,761 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $242,165,000 after purchasing an additional 4,393 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRL. Barclays decreased their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, June 28th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL opened at $187.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.36. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.65 and a fifty-two week high of $275.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $210.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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).