Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Shares Down 4.3%

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) shares were down 4.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $191.23 and last traded at $191.99. Approximately 135,416 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 590,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $200.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on CRL shares. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $265.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $227.55.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

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 50 day moving average is $207.54 and its 200 day moving average is $222.21. The firm has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.36.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 362.5% during the first quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 259 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.91% 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).