Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 418 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,877 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 418 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Professional Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 73,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,387,000 after buying an additional 8,936 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 5,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the third quarter worth $4,095,000. Cardinal Capital Management grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.1% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 10,504 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,311 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $186.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a one year low of $161.65 and a one year high of $275.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.54.

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CRL. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $151.00 target price for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.00.

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).