Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Shares Purchased by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 250,000 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 90,000 shares during the quarter. Charles River Laboratories International accounts for approximately 1.8% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned approximately 0.48% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $49,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 152,800 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,097,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 2,336.4% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 96,871 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $19,081,000 after acquiring an additional 92,895 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,531 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 8,527 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles River Laboratories International

In related news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE CRL traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $184.81. 159,753 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 623,600. The company has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.38. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a one year low of $176.48 and a one year high of $275.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $195.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.56.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 10.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.72 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRL. Citigroup lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Charles River Laboratories International from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of 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. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $214.38.

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).