LPL Financial LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

LPL Financial LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,942 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,229 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $8,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter valued at approximately $601,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 482,745 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $95,086,000 after purchasing an additional 85,759 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,130,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $419,601,000 after purchasing an additional 41,421 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the 3rd quarter worth $966,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 7.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 46,018 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,064,000 after purchasing an additional 3,268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CRL shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.77.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total transaction of $715,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,252,112.50. The trade was a 18.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

NYSE:CRL opened at $136.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 912.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $162.49 and its 200 day moving average is $180.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.99 and a 12 month high of $258.56.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $983.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).