Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 265 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,549 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $1,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 105.7% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 74.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter valued at $57,000. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $239.46 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $254.15 and a 200 day moving average of $222.36. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.65 and a 12 month high of $275.00. The firm has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.07. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 11.49%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $991.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 5,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 2,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,155.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 5,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 2,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,155.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria L. Creamer sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,437,635. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,932 shares of company stock valued at $3,693,663. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on CRL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $252.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Guggenheim cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.23.

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).