UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Has $7.49 Million Stock Holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,572 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,944 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp owned about 0.08% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $7,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. M.D. Sass LLC increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. M.D. Sass LLC now owns 391,824 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $72,331,000 after purchasing an additional 70,652 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 10,121 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% in 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 buying an additional 60,497 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter worth about $3,600,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 673,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $124,394,000 after acquiring an additional 38,827 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of CRL stock opened at $161.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $165.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,077.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.79 and a 52-week high of $273.32.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $983.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total value of $715,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at $3,252,112.50. The trade was a 18.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRL. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. William Blair cut Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.77.

Charles River Laboratories International 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).