Eagle Asset Management Inc. Purchases 95,050 Shares of CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI - Free Report) by 178.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,221 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 95,050 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned 2.19% of CRA International worth $25,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRAI. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of CRA International during the first quarter valued at about $115,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in CRA International in the second quarter worth about $221,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in CRA International by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,000 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CRA International by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRA International by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,280 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. 84.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRAI has been the topic of several research reports. Barrington Research lifted their price target on CRA International from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com lowered CRA International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Insider Activity at CRA International

In related news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $1,436,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,060,433.60. The trade was a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CRA International Trading Up 2.4 %

CRAI traded up $4.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $193.84. 35,457 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 33,851. CRA International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.07 and a 12-month high of $208.38. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $184.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.13.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $167.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.83 million. CRA International had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 6.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that CRA International, Inc. will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

CRA International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is a positive change from CRA International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. CRA International's payout ratio is presently 27.18%.

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.