Citigroup Inc. Sells 10,150 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. reduced its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 4.1% in the first quarter, after selling 10,150 shares, leaving them with approximately 234,510 shares valued at about $35.3 million.
• Wall Street analysts have varied ratings for Charles River Laboratories, with price targets ranging from $118 to $190, and a current consensus rating of "Hold".
• Charles River Laboratories reported quarterly earnings, beating estimates with an EPS of $3.12 and revenue of $1.03 billion, indicating a 0.6% increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Citigroup Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 234,510 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 10,150 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.48% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $35,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter worth approximately $1,231,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 15.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,118 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 13.1% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 44,500 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,698,000 after purchasing an additional 5,148 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 61.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter valued at approximately $213,000. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $60,016.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,738,396.64. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of CRL traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $156.66. 1,038,291 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,079,568. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.86 and a 1-year high of $230.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a PE ratio of -117.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $156.87 and a 200-day moving average of $148.95.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRL shares. Barclays upped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $118.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $150.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $175.69.

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).