Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Shares Sold by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP lessened its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,125 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,408 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 10.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $473,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 31.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 37,074 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $10,045,000 after buying an additional 8,959 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,386 shares in the company, valued at $2,676,862.32. The trade was a 34.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRL. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup cut Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. CLSA raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a "sell" rating and a $151.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $217.54.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of CRL stock traded down $9.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $196.97. The stock had a trading volume of 974,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 620,620. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.48 and a 52-week high of $275.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $195.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 1.38.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 14.29%. Charles River Laboratories International's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.72 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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).