Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 11.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,662 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 41,997 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.64% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $65,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CRL shares. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. CLSA lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $164.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $151.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $214.38.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

NYSE CRL traded down $0.65 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $186.85. 246,630 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 623,583. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.38. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.48 and a 12-month high of $275.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $195.24 and a 200-day moving average of $206.89.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 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 the consensus estimate of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The company's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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).