Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,744 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $15,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the third quarter valued at $59,000. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total transaction of $715,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at $3,252,112.50. This represents a 18.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.77.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL stock opened at $150.58 on Tuesday. 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 $7.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,003.89, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.29. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.64 and a twelve month high of $273.32.

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

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).