Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 88.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,984 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 14,756 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 311.5% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

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 price of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,064,198.54. This trade represents a 2.83 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Foster acquired 6,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $165.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,435.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at $30,302,271.39. This trade represents a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $190.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CRL opened at $105.89 on Monday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.86 and a 52 week high of $254.15. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 705.91, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $151.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.76.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.63 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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).