CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI) Stock Price Down 3.9% – Time to Sell?

Shares of CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) were down 3.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $171.59 and last traded at $170.79. Approximately 6,706 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 37,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barrington Research raised their price objective on CRA International from $212.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

CRA International Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $187.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.67.

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

CRA International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. CRA International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Daniel K. Mahoney sold 1,000 shares of CRA International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.80, for a total transaction of $185,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,258,027.40. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of CRA International stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.28, for a total value of $1,322,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,035,638.16. This trade represents a 5.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,850 shares of company stock worth $3,902,083 over the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRA International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of CRA International during the third quarter worth $164,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CRA International during the fourth quarter valued at $249,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of CRA International during the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CRA International by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CRA International by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 84.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRA International Company Profile

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.