Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Sells 45,619 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 28.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 114,762 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 45,619 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC owned about 0.22% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $22,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.8% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 200,314 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,381,000 after buying an additional 5,375 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 99.8% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,646 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 135,175.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,411 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 5,407 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the second quarter valued at approximately $506,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 111,995 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,714 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total transaction of $1,430,930.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,676,862.32. The trade was a 34.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRL. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.38.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL stock opened at $195.77 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.65. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.48 and a 52 week high of $275.00. 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 capitalization of $10.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 1.38.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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).