Patton Fund Management Inc. Takes Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. $CRL

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International by purchasing 1,920 shares valued at approximately $291,000 in the second quarter.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their positions in Charles River Laboratories, with ownership now standing at 98.91% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have issued various updates, including upgrades from Jefferies and Citigroup, with price targets for the stock ranging from $177.07 to $200.00 based on the consensus rating.

Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,920 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 480.0% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 174 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 93.5% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 178 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 83.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 474 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRL. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $142.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.07.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

CRL stock opened at $148.61 on Friday. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $159.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.71. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.86 and a twelve month high of $230.02. The firm has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.74, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.47.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.60, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,800,681.60. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently 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).

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