Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Receives Consensus Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $214.38.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com cut Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Baird R W lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total transaction of $1,430,930.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,862.32. This trade represents a 34.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,424 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 4.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. American Trust increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 5.9% during the second quarter. American Trust now owns 976 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.1% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,988 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CRL stock traded up $1.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $195.77. 575,717 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 863,318. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $194.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.86. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1-year low of $176.48 and a 1-year high of $275.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.38.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.72 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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).