Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $42.78 Million Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 231,720 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $42,776,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of Charles River Laboratories International at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the third quarter valued at about $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 period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,130,279 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $419,601,000 after acquiring an additional 41,421 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 111,995 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $22,060,000 after acquiring an additional 3,714 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 7.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 46,018 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,064,000 after acquiring an additional 3,268 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRL. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. William Blair downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. CLSA cut Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $164.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $198.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, COO Birgit Girshick purchased 1,514 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Foster purchased 6,075 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at $30,302,271.39. This represents a 3.42 % 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 company insiders.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRL traded up $4.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $171.27. 1,034,089 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 709,438. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.79 and a 52-week high of $274.77. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $167.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.59. The company has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,141.78, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $983.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

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).