Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Increases Stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,670 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,415 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado owned 0.12% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $12,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRL. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter valued at $2,321,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,319,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 200,314 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,381,000 after acquiring an additional 5,375 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 56,840 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,401,000 after acquiring an additional 2,739 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $205.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.65 and a twelve month high of $275.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $209.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.80. The company has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.36.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 10.83%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRL. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen cut 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 report on Monday, August 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.93.

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).