Meritage Group LP Trims Stock Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Meritage Group LP reduced its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,074,120 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 111,047 shares during the quarter. Charles River Laboratories International comprises 4.7% of Meritage Group LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Meritage Group LP owned about 2.10% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $198,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. William Blair lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $105.89 on Friday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.86 and a 1 year high of $254.15. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 705.91, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $151.07 and a 200 day moving average of $173.87. 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 announced its 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 the consensus estimate of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 acquisition, the chief operating officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. This represents a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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).