Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Shares Acquired by Hilton Capital Management LLC

Hilton Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,038 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $1,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 135,927.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,740,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $736,819,000 after buying an additional 3,738,018 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,776,000. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 426,767 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $78,781,000 after purchasing an additional 126,372 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2,336.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 96,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,081,000 after purchasing an additional 92,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 250,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,573,000 after buying an additional 90,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 2.1 %

Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $167.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,113.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.79 and a 1 year high of $274.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $168.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.07. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. Charles River Laboratories International’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.36.

About Charles River Laboratories International

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).