Swiss National Bank Has $26.93 Million Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $26,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,001 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRL. Redburn Atlantic raised 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. William Blair cut Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. CLSA cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $164.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.36.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

CRL opened at $175.02 on Tuesday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.79 and a 52-week high of $274.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 1,166.77, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.33.

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 (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. Charles River Laboratories International’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).