Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Shares Sold by West Michigan Advisors LLC

West Michigan Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 232,318 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $42,886,000 after buying an additional 47,626 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $255,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,094,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,768,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter worth $2,510,000. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $165.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,100.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.37. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.79 and a twelve month high of $275.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.93.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James C. Foster bought 6,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $165.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,435.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,302,271.39. This trade represents a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.71.

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).