Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 8,049 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Heartland Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 33.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,059 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,049 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $2,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter worth about $211,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 65.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,891 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 12.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,355 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,252,000 after buying an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter worth approximately $1,609,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,210 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Charles River Laboratories International Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CRL traded up $3.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $149.36. The company had a trading volume of 503,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,592. 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 12 month low of $143.33 and a 12 month high of $267.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.92. The stock has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 995.73, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, CEO James C. Foster purchased 6,075 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total transaction of $715,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. William Blair lowered Charles River Laboratories International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. 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.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $189.77.

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).