Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,115 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 4,212 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.05% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $6,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter valued at $709,000. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 142,904 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,783,000 after buying an additional 9,723 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,603 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 879 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Victoria L. Creamer sold 5,000 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.70, for a total transaction of $1,268,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,550 shares in the company, valued at $3,437,635. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 5,882 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total transaction of $1,418,738.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,155.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Victoria L. Creamer sold 5,000 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.70, for a total value of $1,268,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,437,635. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,932 shares of company stock worth $3,693,663 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $252.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Guggenheim lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.23.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

NYSE CRL opened at $235.34 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $12.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.44. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.65 and a 12 month high of $275.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $251.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $991.25 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 16.53%. Charles River Laboratories International’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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).