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

Key Points

• Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) was downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen.
• Barrington Research raised its price target for CRAI from $224.00 to $228.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Recent insider trading saw EVP Jonathan D. Yellin and CEO Paul A. Maleh sell shares, reducing their ownership stakes by 8.40% and 5.03% respectively.

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

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

Charles River Associates Stock Performance

CRAI stock traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $187.22. The company had a trading volume of 34,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,118. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.91. Charles River Associates has a 12 month low of $152.57 and a 12 month high of $214.01. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $185.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.13.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $186.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.34 million. Charles River Associates had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 25.51%. Equities analysts anticipate that Charles River Associates will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Associates Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Charles River Associates's dividend payout ratio is 23.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.62, for a total value of $1,429,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 141,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,981,307.90. This represents a 5.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.46, for a total transaction of $329,805.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,594,497.58. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Associates

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 4th quarter worth approximately $249,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 1st quarter worth approximately $329,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates during the first quarter valued at approximately $360,000. 84.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.