Insider Selling: CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) CEO Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.37, for a total transaction of $398,740.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 153,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,664,302.22. The trade was a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

CRA International Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CRAI traded down $0.95 on Wednesday, hitting $194.59. 62,934 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,012. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.13. CRA International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.00 and a 1-year high of $214.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $187.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.71.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.44. CRA International had a return on equity of 25.95% and a net margin of 6.79%. The business had revenue of $176.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.29 million. On average, equities analysts predict that CRA International, Inc. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRA International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. CRA International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of CRA International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barrington Research increased their price objective on CRA International from $212.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday.

Institutional Trading of CRA International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRAI. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CRA International by 178.8% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 148,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,986,000 after acquiring an additional 95,050 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CRA International in the fourth quarter valued at $9,389,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in CRA International by 41.9% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 78,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,699,000 after purchasing an additional 23,078 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in CRA International by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 29,115 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,450,000 after purchasing an additional 10,455 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of CRA International during the 4th quarter valued at about $656,000. 84.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CRA International

CRA International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides economic, financial, and management consulting services worldwide. It advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings; and guides corporations through business strategy and performance-related issues.