Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $3,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $601,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 21.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 482,745 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $95,086,000 after acquiring an additional 85,759 shares during the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $589,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 5.8% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 108,715 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $21,413,000 after acquiring an additional 5,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,808,002 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $330,231,000 after purchasing an additional 47,221 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. William Blair lowered Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $105.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.86 and a 52 week high of $254.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $152.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 705.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $983.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Foster bought 6,075 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $165.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,435.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 183,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. The trade was a 3.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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).