Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Buys 144,732 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. $CRL

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories by 8% in Q1, acquiring an additional 144,732 shares and now holds nearly 4% of the company valued at approximately $294 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently adjusted their investments in Charles River Laboratories, showing strong institutional support with 99% ownership by institutions.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and target prices ranging from $160 to $200 following recent upward adjustments from firms like Citigroup and JPMorgan.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,950,273 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 144,732 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned 3.97% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $293,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,366.7% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 24,846 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,740,000 after purchasing an additional 23,152 shares in the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 590 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,879 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 144.3% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 544,825 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $82,007,000 after purchasing an additional 321,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 2,554 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,116 shares in the company, valued at $3,800,681.60. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Up 0.1%

Charles River Laboratories International stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $163.34. The stock had a trading volume of 167,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,244,306. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -122.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 1.48. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a one year low of $91.86 and a one year high of $230.02. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $159.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.75.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $118.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $188.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $175.69.

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).