Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 28.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 775,213 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 315,779 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 1.52% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $143,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CRL. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 46,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,608,000 after buying an additional 5,769 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 190.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 389 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 8,690 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,897,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, CEO James C. Foster purchased 6,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 approximately $30,302,271.39. This trade represents a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total value of $715,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at $3,252,112.50. This trade represents a 18.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of CRL stock opened at $155.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,037.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a one year low of $150.79 and a one year high of $273.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $164.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.60.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $983.63 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CRL. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Friday, January 17th. William Blair lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $190.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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).