Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 13,651 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $6,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the third quarter worth about $601,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 21.6% in the third 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 during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.0% in the third 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. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 111,995 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,714 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 7.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 46,018 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,064,000 after purchasing an additional 3,268 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James C. Foster purchased 6,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. This trade represents a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Birgit Girshick purchased 1,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,198.54. This trade represents a 2.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $165.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $170.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,100.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.37. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.79 and a 12-month high of $275.00.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.71.

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).