Charles River Associates (CRAI) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.67 on December 11th

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share by the business services provider on Friday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. This is a 17.5% increase from Charles River Associates’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57.

Charles River Associates has increased its dividend by an average of 0.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 7 consecutive years. Charles River Associates has a dividend payout ratio of 26.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Charles River Associates to earn $9.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.2%.

Charles River Associates Trading Down 2.6%

Charles River Associates stock opened at $197.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.64. Charles River Associates has a 1-year low of $132.17 and a 1-year high of $227.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.08.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.12. Charles River Associates had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 6.20%. The company had revenue of $214.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.04 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Charles River Associates will post 8.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan Yellin sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.25, for a total value of $389,812.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,153 shares in the company, valued at $1,932,257.25. The trade was a 16.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Associates

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,959,000. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in Charles River Associates in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,660,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates in the second quarter valued at about $961,000. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Charles River Associates during the second quarter worth approximately $2,362,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Charles River Associates during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,965,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

About Charles River Associates

Charles River Associates, operating as CRA International, Inc, is a global consulting firm that provides economic, financial, and management consulting services. The company advises corporations, law firms, government agencies, and other organizations on complex business, legal, regulatory, and strategic matters.

CRA’s services include economic and financial analysis for litigation and regulatory proceedings, antitrust and competition consulting, corporate strategy, business performance improvement, and investigations.