Zions Bancorporation N.A. Grows Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 17.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,527 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $1,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 1st quarter valued at about $473,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 1st quarter valued at about $284,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 37,074 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,045,000 after buying an additional 8,959 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $151.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. CLSA upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.54.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 4.6 %

NYSE CRL opened at $196.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $195.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.82. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.48 and a 52 week high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 14.29%. Charles River Laboratories International’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total value of $1,430,930.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,676,862.32. This represents a 34.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Charles River Laboratories International 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).