LPL Financial LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has decreased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 14.6%, now owning 40,070 shares valued at approximately $5.86 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Two Sigma Securities and Wahed Invest, have recently increased their stakes in Charles River Laboratories International, indicating growing interest among hedge funds.
• Analysts have generally upgraded their ratings on Charles River Laboratories, with Citigroup increasing its target price from $150 to $200 and categorizing the stock as a "buy."

LPL Financial LLC decreased its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 14.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,070 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,872 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $5,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter valued at about $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 buying 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 buying 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 buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the first quarter worth about $213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL traded up $0.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $156.66. 1,038,291 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,079,568. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.86 and a 1 year high of $230.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $156.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.86. The company has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a PE ratio of -117.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.48.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CRL shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $179.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $188.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Cowen upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $175.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $60,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,916 shares in the company, valued at $3,738,396.64. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).