Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Shares Bought by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 439.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,066 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,972 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $9,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 311.5% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total transaction of $715,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. The trade was a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Foster bought 6,075 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. The trade was a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRL. 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 report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRL opened at $105.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 705.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $151.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.87. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.86 and a fifty-two week high of $254.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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 predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS 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).