Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 16,675 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 647,780 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 16,675 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.27% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $119,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRL. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James C. Foster bought 6,075 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $165.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,435.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 183,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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 report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $189.77.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRL traded down $2.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $134.06. The company had a trading volume of 749,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,530. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $128.09 and a 1-year high of $258.56. The stock has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 890.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $162.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.59.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.63 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share 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).