Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 5,418 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,679 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,418 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.11% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $13,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,953,860 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,166,837,000 after buying an additional 29,482 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,746,101 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $342,201,000 after buying an additional 64,981 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,195,226 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $234,241,000 after buying an additional 6,398 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,066,600 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $209,032,000 after buying an additional 18,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 927,895 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $181,849,000 after buying an additional 75,978 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock traded down $2.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $229.89. 409,225 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 546,206. The company has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.44. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $252.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.52. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.65 and a 52 week high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $991.25 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 16.53%. Charles River Laboratories International's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.98 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $252.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.23.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In related news, EVP Victoria L. Creamer sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.70, for a total value of $1,268,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,437,635. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Victoria L. Creamer sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.70, for a total value of $1,268,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,437,635. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William D. Barbo sold 4,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.50, for a total transaction of $1,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,879 shares in the company, valued at $5,685,431.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,932 shares of company stock worth $3,693,663. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Charles River Laboratories International

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).