Forsta AP Fonden Grows Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 11.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $2,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRL. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. CLSA began coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 1.4 %

CRL stock opened at $181.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.36. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.65 and a 52 week high of $275.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.05. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 10.83%. Equities analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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).