Groupama Asset Managment Increases Stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 155.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRL shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.77.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $149.30 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 995.33, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $163.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.69. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.76 and a 52-week high of $264.71.

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

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total transaction of $715,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. The trade was a 18.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).