Riverbridge Partners LLC Sells 17,174 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. $CRL

Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,529 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 17,174 shares during the quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned 0.08% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $11,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,652,484 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $285,001,000 after buying an additional 210,260 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 5.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,135,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $195,792,000 after buying an additional 54,500 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 175.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 773,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,397,000 after acquiring an additional 492,301 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 11.2% in the first quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 501,152 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $86,449,000 after acquiring an additional 50,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 230.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 204,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $59,044,000 after acquiring an additional 142,716 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL stock opened at $346.29 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $308.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 380.54, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.36. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.20 and a fifty-two week high of $379.63.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.12. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 16.95%. The company had revenue of $982.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Nancy C. Andrews sold 573 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.24, for a total value of $163,442.52. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $410,175.12. This trade represents a 28.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James C. Foster sold 33,561 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $10,068,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,596 shares in the company, valued at $9,478,800. This trade represents a 51.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 63,352 shares of company stock worth $20,291,281. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CRL. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $291.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $357.00 to $387.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $310.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.17.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

Charles River Laboratories International is a contract research organization that supports pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as academic and government researchers, in developing medicines and advancing scientific research. Its services span the drug development process, from early discovery and preclinical research to manufacturing support. The company’s offerings include research models and related services, drug discovery and safety assessment, and manufacturing solutions. These may include laboratory animal models, laboratory testing, bioanalysis, and support for the production of products used in the development of pharmaceuticals and biologics.