Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 20,390 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,029 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 20,390 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.13% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $11,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,001 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on CRL shares. Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $182.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of CRL traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $105.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 512,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 869,944. 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 one year low of $91.86 and a one year high of $254.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 706.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $155.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.21.

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

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

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

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).