Meritage Group LP Sells 111,047 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Meritage Group LP trimmed its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,074,120 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 111,047 shares during the quarter. Charles River Laboratories International makes up 4.7% of Meritage Group LP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Meritage Group LP’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $198,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 311.5% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on CRL shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James C. Foster acquired 6,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CRL opened at $105.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 705.91, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.86 and a 12 month high of $254.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $151.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.87.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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).