Natixis Advisors L.P. Buys 6,913 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,855 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 6,913 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $15,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 8,450 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 328 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.7% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 2,393 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.3% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,076 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CRL shares. TheStreet upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Guggenheim cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.23.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Up 0.8 %

Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $235.27 on Tuesday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.65 and a 1 year high of $275.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $251.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $12.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.44.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.07. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $991.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. Charles River Laboratories International’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Victoria L. Creamer sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.70, for a total transaction of $1,268,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,437,635. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Victoria L. Creamer sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,437,635. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William D. Barbo sold 4,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.50, for a total transaction of $1,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,685,431.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,932 shares of company stock worth $3,693,663. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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).