Van ECK Associates Corp Cuts Stock Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,273 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,633 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.10% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $9,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew 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 during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.91% of the company's stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock traded down $2.64 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $211.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 521,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 614,312. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.58. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $166.87 and a fifty-two week high of $275.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $193.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.60.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 10.83%. Charles River Laboratories International's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CRL shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Baird R W cut Charles River Laboratories International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $214.93.

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).