BNP Paribas Financial Markets Grows Position in Charles River Associates $CRAI

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) by 140.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,003 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Charles River Associates were worth $8,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRAI. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Associates by 72.3% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 32,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,807,000 after buying an additional 13,692 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Associates in the second quarter worth $1,424,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Associates by 154.3% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 5,995 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 3,638 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Associates by 63.9% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 6,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,337,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Associates by 2.6% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,600,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CRAI shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Charles River Associates in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Charles River Associates from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.00.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Associates

In other news, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.72, for a total value of $332,370.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,956,846.84. This represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Charles River Associates Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CRAI opened at $145.15 on Tuesday. Charles River Associates has a 1 year low of $132.17 and a 1 year high of $227.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $937.67 million, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.69.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.03). Charles River Associates had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 26.02%. The business had revenue of $200.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.81 million. Equities research analysts expect that Charles River Associates will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Associates Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Charles River Associates’s payout ratio is presently 31.67%.

About Charles River Associates

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ: CRAI) is a global consulting firm specializing in economic, financial and management advisory services. Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company provides expert analysis to support litigation, regulatory proceedings, and strategic decision-making. Its multidisciplinary teams draw on academic rigor and industry experience to deliver quantitative and qualitative insights tailored to clients’ needs.

The firm’s service offerings include competition economics, antitrust and merger analysis, intellectual property valuation and damages assessment, and risk management.