Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Stock Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,529 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 327 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total value of $1,430,930.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,676,862.32. This represents a 34.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of CRL opened at $186.06 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $195.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.48. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.48 and a twelve month high of $275.00. The firm has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.38.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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. Baird R W cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.38.

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).