Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 5,418 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,679 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,418 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $13,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,953,860 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,166,837,000 after purchasing an additional 29,482 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,746,101 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $342,201,000 after buying an additional 64,981 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,195,226 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $234,241,000 after buying an additional 6,398 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.8% during the third quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,066,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $209,032,000 after acquiring an additional 18,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 8.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 927,895 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $181,849,000 after acquiring an additional 75,978 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on CRL shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Guggenheim cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 5,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total transaction of $1,418,738.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,155.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP William D. Barbo sold 4,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.50, for a total value of $1,006,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,685,431.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 5,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total value of $1,418,738.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,155.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,932 shares of company stock worth $3,693,663 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL stock opened at $232.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $253.02 and its 200-day moving average is $223.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.40. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.65 and a 1 year high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $991.25 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 11.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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).