United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 50,154 CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 50,154 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,389,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC owned 0.74% of CRA International as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRAI. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of CRA International during the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in CRA International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $656,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CRA International by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 29,115 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,450,000 after acquiring an additional 10,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 2,000 shares of CRA International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 153,806 shares in the company, 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 accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas Aiken Avery sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total value of $199,050.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,919,864.45. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,850 shares of company stock worth $3,902,083 in the last quarter. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

CRA International Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ CRAI traded up $1.39 on Monday, reaching $164.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,088. CRA International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.54 and a 52 week high of $214.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $179.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.78.

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

CRA International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. CRA International's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

CRA International 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.