Lathrop Investment Management Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Lathrop Investment Management Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 16.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,414 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,874 shares during the period. Lathrop Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $5,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 327 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 3.4 %

CRL opened at $194.37 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $195.05 and its 200-day moving average is $206.34. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a one year low of $176.48 and a one year high of $275.00. The company has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CRL. StockNews.com downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total value of $1,430,930.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,862.32. This represents a 34.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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).