Professional Advisory Services Inc. Grows Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Professional Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 73,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,936 shares during the quarter. Charles River Laboratories International accounts for about 1.9% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Professional Advisory Services Inc. owned about 0.14% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $14,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,980,306 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,413,744,000 after purchasing an additional 26,446 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at about $230,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 554 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

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $197.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.65 and a 1-year high of $275.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $197.26 and a 200-day moving average of $214.56.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRL. Bank of America cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.23.

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).