Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 29.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 30,445 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 12,751 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.06% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $5,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,158,926 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,136,938,000 after purchasing an additional 60,497 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,076,426 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $752,508,000 after acquiring an additional 335,658 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $330,231,000 after acquiring an additional 47,221 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,233,211 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $227,042,000 after acquiring an additional 14,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 673,868 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $124,394,000 after purchasing an additional 38,827 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 1.6 %

CRL traded up $1.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.89. 1,658,424 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 891,981. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 705.91, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $151.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.00. 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.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $983.63 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. Charles River Laboratories International's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRL shares. Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total value of $715,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. This represents a 18.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).