Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Sells 45,619 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 28.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,762 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 45,619 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC owned about 0.22% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $22,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 40.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 327 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $151.00 target price for the company. Citigroup cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $203.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $214.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,676,862.32. The trade was a 34.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of CRL traded up $5.39 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $201.16. 612,722 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 624,951. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.44. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a one year low of $176.48 and a one year high of $275.00.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $975.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. Charles River Laboratories International's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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).