Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stake in CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI - Free Report) by 53.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,689 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,352 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of CRA International worth $878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CRA International by 3.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in CRA International by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of CRA International during the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRA International by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 161,208 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of CRA International in the fourth quarter worth $656,000. Institutional investors own 84.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 2,000 shares of CRA International stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.37, for a total value of $398,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 153,806 shares in the company, valued at $30,664,302.22. The trade was a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 1,750 shares of CRA International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.51, for a total transaction of $333,392.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,631,692.13. This trade represents a 8.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,850 shares of company stock worth $3,902,083. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

CRA International Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:CRAI traded up $0.63 on Friday, reaching $162.99. 63,266 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,314. CRA International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.54 and a 1-year high of $214.01. The company's 50 day moving average is $177.24 and its 200-day moving average is $185.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.96.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. CRA International had a net margin of 6.79% and a return on equity of 25.95%. The company had revenue of $176.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.29 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CRA International, Inc. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRA International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. CRA International's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.