Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD Sells 160 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD decreased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 27.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 432 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $85,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $346,821,000 after purchasing an additional 509,163 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2,733.4% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 247,501 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $67,060,000 after acquiring an additional 238,766 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 825,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,615,000 after acquiring an additional 163,056 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,053,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,004,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $207,507,000 after buying an additional 110,725 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock traded down $1.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $180.38. The company had a trading volume of 341,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,274. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.05. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $161.65 and a 12-month high of $275.00. The company has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.41. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 EPS for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on CRL shares. Bank of America downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group cut their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their target price for the company from $225.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Baird R W lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Company 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).