Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold"

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Barrington Research upped their target price on Charles River Associates from $224.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st.

Charles River Associates Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of CRAI stock traded up $5.19 on Friday, reaching $188.03. The company had a trading volume of 114,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,770. The business's 50-day moving average is $179.81 and its 200 day moving average is $182.44. Charles River Associates has a one year low of $133.54 and a one year high of $214.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.93.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $181.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.63 million. Charles River Associates had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 25.88%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Charles River Associates will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Associates Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Charles River Associates's payout ratio is 26.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.46, for a total value of $329,805.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,594,497.58. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.62, for a total transaction of $1,429,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 141,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,981,307.90. This represents a 5.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRAI. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Charles River Associates by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,418 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $640,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 4th quarter worth about $656,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Charles River Associates in the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Associates by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 29,115 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,450,000 after purchasing an additional 10,455 shares during the period. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,389,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.13% of the company's stock.

About Charles River Associates

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.