Ariel Investments LLC Purchases 33,449 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. $CRL

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories by 3.1% during the first quarter, holding over 1.1 million shares valued at approximately $165.7 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Schonfeld Strategic Advisors and Ameriprise Financial, have also raised their positions, indicating growing institutional confidence in Charles River Laboratories.
• Analyst ratings have been largely positive, with multiple upgrades to "buy" from firms such as Citigroup, which raised the target price to $200, reflecting optimistic outlooks for the company's performance.

Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,100,776 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,449 shares during the quarter. Charles River Laboratories International accounts for approximately 1.9% of Ariel Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Ariel Investments LLC owned 2.24% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $165,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRL. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 223,036 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $41,173,000 after purchasing an additional 9,847 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 90,083 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $16,629,000 after purchasing an additional 10,912 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,052,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.60, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,116 shares in the company, valued at $3,800,681.60. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Charles River Laboratories International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Cowen upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $175.69.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock traded up $1.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $164.00. 598,963 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 775,011. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.86 and a 52 week high of $230.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -123.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 1.47. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $160.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.03.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.62. Charles River Laboratories International had a positive return on equity of 15.74% and a negative net margin of 1.69%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $983.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. Charles River Laboratories International's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International 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).