Norges Bank Acquires New Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 535,677 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,886,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $145.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a PE ratio of 972.11, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a one year low of $145.66 and a one year high of $267.83. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $163.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.92.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James C. Foster acquired 6,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. This represents a 3.42 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CRL. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of 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. William Blair cut Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.77.

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).