Barclays PLC Trims Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Barclays PLC cut its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,772 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,054 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.25% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $23,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,158,926 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,136,938,000 after acquiring an additional 60,497 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,076,426 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $752,508,000 after purchasing an additional 335,658 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,808,002 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $330,231,000 after purchasing an additional 47,221 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,233,211 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $227,042,000 after purchasing an additional 14,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,034,180 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $190,910,000 after purchasing an additional 151,159 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Birgit Girshick purchased 1,514 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Foster acquired 6,075 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $165.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,435.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. This represents a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CRL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on 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. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $185.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $114.14. The company had a trading volume of 327,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,515,262. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $147.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.73. The company has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 760.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.86 and a 1 year high of $254.15.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. Charles River Laboratories International's revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS 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).