Everence Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 1,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter valued at $298,877,000. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the third quarter valued at $173,174,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 35.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,506,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $505,821,000 after acquiring an additional 653,790 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at $97,675,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 28.2% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,368,943 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $388,739,000 after acquiring an additional 301,159 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CRL stock opened at $227.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $253.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.96. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.65 and a twelve month high of $275.00. The company has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Argus lifted their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $240.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $252.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.23.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 5,882 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total value of $1,418,738.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,155.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 5,882 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total value of $1,418,738.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,155.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Victoria L. Creamer sold 5,000 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,437,635. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,932 shares of company stock valued at $3,693,663. 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).