ING Groep NV Trims Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

ING Groep NV lowered its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 374 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,672 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter worth about $83,800,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 152.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 49,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,657,000 after acquiring an additional 29,621 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 3rd quarter worth about $158,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 10,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of CRL stock opened at $163.11 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,087.39, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.37. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a one year low of $150.79 and a one year high of $275.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. Charles River Laboratories International’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CRL. CLSA lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 18th. William Blair downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total value of $715,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. This trade represents a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Foster purchased 6,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. This trade represents a 3.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).