Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 6,633 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,633 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.10% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $9,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the third quarter worth about $79,000. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Up 13.6 %

NYSE CRL opened at $214.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $192.99 and its 200 day moving average is $208.56. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $166.87 and a twelve month high of $275.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. Research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CRL shares. Baird R W cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $151.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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).