Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 3,156 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 63%, now holding 1,855 shares valued at approximately $279,000.
• Several hedge funds have increased their investments in the company, including Rothschild Investment LLC, which raised its stake by 480%, owning 174 shares worth $26,000 post-acquisition.
• Analyst ratings for Charles River Laboratories have improved, with Wall Street Zen upgrading it from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating, and multiple firms raising their price targets significantly.

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 63.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,855 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,156 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.7% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 3,916 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,131 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.4% during the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 3,298 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 400 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $60,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,738,396.64. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on CRL shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $188.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $175.69.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:CRL traded up $3.76 on Tuesday, hitting $152.69. 1,017,213 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,283,507. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a PE ratio of -114.80, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.48. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.86 and a 52 week high of $230.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.00.

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

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).