Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Decreases Position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 43.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,451 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,907 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,158,926 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,136,938,000 after acquiring an additional 60,497 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,076,426 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $752,508,000 after purchasing an additional 335,658 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,808,002 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $330,231,000 after purchasing an additional 47,221 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,233,211 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $227,042,000 after purchasing an additional 14,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,034,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $190,910,000 after buying an additional 151,159 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL opened at $144.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 962.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $137.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.78. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.86 and a 1 year high of $254.15. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $2.34 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $984.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $942.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. The trade was a 18.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRL. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. William Blair cut Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI raised Charles River Laboratories International from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.00.

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).