Norges Bank Buys Shares of 535,677 Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 535,677 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $98,886,000. Norges Bank owned 1.05% of Charles River Laboratories International 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. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of Charles River Laboratories International 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 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 trade represents a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,198.54. This trade represents a 2.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on CRL shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $185.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. William Blair cut Charles River Laboratories International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $189.77.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRL traded down $4.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $136.95. 1,666,195 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 771,482. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $162.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 912.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.99 and a 52 week high of $258.56.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $983.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International Company 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).