LRT Capital Management LLC Invests $2 Million in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

LRT Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,832 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,000,000. Charles River Laboratories International comprises approximately 1.6% of LRT Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 60,501 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,917,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,047,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total transaction of $715,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. This trade represents a 18.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,064,198.54. This trade represents 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair lowered Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 1.8%

CRL stock opened at $138.84 on Monday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a one year low of $91.86 and a one year high of $254.15. The stock has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 925.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $138.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.28. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The business had revenue of $984.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $942.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.27 EPS. Charles River Laboratories International’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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).