Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 67.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,592 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,494 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 311.5% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 3.5%

CRL traded down $5.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $138.45. 94,611 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 980,441. The firm's fifty day moving average is $134.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.34. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.86 and a 1-year high of $254.15. The company has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a PE ratio of 925.65, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $984.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $942.34 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The firm's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $118.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $172.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 500 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.41, for a total transaction of $72,705.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,837,385.33. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 5,040 shares of company stock worth $807,407 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by 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).