Congress Asset Management Co. Has $85.46 Million Stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 433,865 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,239 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $85,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 200,314 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,381,000 after buying an additional 5,375 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 5.1% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 56,840 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,739 shares in the last quarter. Natixis bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,058,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 99.8% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 2,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2,733.4% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 247,501 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $67,060,000 after acquiring an additional 238,766 shares during the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock traded down $1.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $180.27. The company had a trading volume of 245,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,820. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a one year low of $161.65 and a one year high of $275.00. The firm has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.66 and a 200 day moving average of $210.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 10.83%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Baird R W cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.00.

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).