Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 198,750 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. $CRL

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories by 30%, acquiring an additional 198,750 shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately 862,254 shares valued at $129.8 million.
• Charles River Laboratories reported $3.12 EPS in its latest earnings, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.50, while its revenue rose by 0.6% over the previous year.
• Recent ratings from analysts include upgrades from Citigroup and Evercore ISI, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $175.69 for the stock.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 30.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 862,254 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 198,750 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.76% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $129,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,231,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 15.4% in the 1st 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 boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 13.1% in the 1st 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 boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 61.6% in the 1st 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 Charles River Laboratories International in the 1st quarter valued at about $213,000. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $118.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $188.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $175.69.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock traded down $1.05 on Wednesday, reaching $162.66. 417,347 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 955,117. The firm's 50 day moving average is $158.64 and its 200-day moving average is $148.73. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a one year low of $91.86 and a one year 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 $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of -122.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.48.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.60, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,800,681.60. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).