Exploring CRA International, Inc. (CRAI) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're looking at CRA International, Inc. (CRAI) because its financial profile is defintely screaming institutional confidence, but you need to know which funds are buying and why they're stacking up shares of this specialized consulting firm. The direct takeaway is that professional money managers own a staggering 84.13% of the stock, a clear signal they believe in the firm's ability to monetize complex regulatory and litigation work-the core of its business. Why the conviction? The company just reported a blockbuster Q3 2025 with revenue hitting $185.89 million and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.06, which crushed analyst forecasts of $1.80, plus they raised their full-year 2025 revenue guidance to a range of $740 million to $748 million; so, this isn't a speculative play, it's a bet on consistent execution, underpinned by a 16% hike in the quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share.

Who Invests in CRA International, Inc. (CRAI) and Why?

You're looking at CRA International, Inc. (CRAI), a high-stakes consulting firm, and the investor profile is clear: this is a stock dominated by large, sophisticated institutional money, not retail traders. The core attraction is CRAI's consistent, defensive growth fueled by complex legal and regulatory work, plus a capital allocation strategy that aggressively returns cash to shareholders through buybacks and a growing dividend.

Honestly, you're not seeing a lot of day-traders here. The institutional ownership is staggering, sitting at an estimated 84.13% to 92.56% of the total shares outstanding. This means the stock's price action is largely driven by the buy and sell decisions of major asset managers, not the individual investor. Plus, with insider ownership around 14.36%, management's interests are defintely aligned with yours. That's a strong signal.

The biggest players on the cap table-the largest institutional owners-are names you know, like BlackRock, Inc., Fmr Llc, Neuberger Berman Group LLC, and Vanguard Group Inc. These are not speculative investors; they are long-term holders deploying capital into a proven, profitable business model.

Key Investor Types: The Institutional Dominance

The investor base for CRA International, Inc. breaks down into a few clear categories, but the scale of institutional investment is the defining feature. This high percentage of institutional ownership reflects confidence in the company's specialized business model, which is less susceptible to broad economic swings than general management consulting (think of it as a recession-resistant 'litigation hedge').

• Mutual Funds & Asset Managers: These are the largest holders, including firms like Vanguard Group Inc. and BlackRock, Inc. Their strategy is typically long-term holding, aiming for capital appreciation and stable income, often through index funds or actively managed growth-at-a-reasonable-price (GARP) strategies.
• Hedge Funds: Firms like Renaissance Technologies Llc hold a significant stake. Their strategies can vary, but for a stock like CRAI, they often focus on quantitative models or event-driven trades, such as anticipating the impact of new regulations on the demand for CRAI's legal and regulatory consulting (which generates about 80% of total revenue).
• Retail Investors: While they hold the minority share, they are often attracted by the company's consistent performance and its dividend-growth track record.
• Insiders: High insider ownership, approximately 14.36%, is a crucial indicator of conviction in the company's future.

Investment Motivations: Growth, Value, and Capital Return

Investors are attracted to CRA International, Inc. for a potent mix of reliable growth, a compelling valuation story, and a shareholder-friendly capital return policy. This isn't a high-flying tech stock; it's a steady compounder.

The company's full-year fiscal 2025 revenue guidance is strong, recently raised to a range of $740 million to $748 million, with a non-GAAP EBITDA margin expected between 12.6% and 13.0%. This demonstrates operational efficiency and pricing power. The core motivation is the predictable, high-margin revenue from its niche specializations, such as antitrust and competition economics, life sciences, and forensic services, which together account for about 75% of revenue.

Here's the quick math on shareholder return: the company has returned nearly $200 million to shareholders over the past five years through buybacks and dividends, delivering an average shareholder yield of approximately 6% relative to its average market capitalization. The current annual dividend is $1.96 per share, yielding about 1.08%. That's a low payout ratio of only 23.3% of earnings, meaning they prioritize using the majority of cash flow for growth and share repurchases, which is a key driver for earnings per share (EPS) growth.

Investment Strategies: Long-Term Compounding and Value Hunting

The prevailing investment strategies for CRA International, Inc. are essentially split between long-term growth investors and value-oriented funds. The stock trades at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 21.3x, which is lower than the US industry average of 25.1x, suggesting a potential undervaluation that value investors are targeting. The analyst consensus price target of $239 further supports this view.

For long-term holders, the strategy is simple: buy and hold a business that consistently compounds earnings through organic growth and a shrinking share count. The company has a 15-year history of achieving 8%-10% annual revenue growth. This compounding effect is what drives the impressive 5-year total shareholder return of a substantial 332%. The ability to consistently grow its dividend for nine years also appeals to dividend-growth investors. You can read more about the foundation of this success in their Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of CRA International, Inc. (CRAI).

What this estimate hides, however, is the risk associated with a high concentration in the legal and regulatory segment. While it's a stable business, a sudden shift in antitrust enforcement or a slowdown in complex litigation could impact their lead flow. Still, the company's minimal capital expenditure (CapEx), which averages less than $5 million annually, means nearly all its operating cash flow is available for talent investment and shareholder returns, which is a powerful tailwind for a service business.

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of CRA International, Inc. (CRAI)

You're looking at CRA International, Inc. (CRAI) and seeing a high-conviction stock, and the institutional ownership data confirms that view. Over 90% of CRAI's shares are held by institutions, which is a strong signal of professional confidence in the company's specialized consulting model. This high concentration means large, sophisticated funds are the primary drivers of the stock's valuation, betting on its stability and expertise in complex litigation and regulatory matters.

This is defintely not a retail-investor-driven story; it's a long-term institutional play on the non-cyclical demand for expert economic testimony. For a deeper dive into the firm's foundation, you can check out CRA International, Inc. (CRAI): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Top Institutional Investors and Their Stakes

The institutional landscape is dominated by the world's largest asset managers, which is typical for a mid-cap company with a strong track record. As of the most recent filings (Q3 2025), the total institutional share count is substantial, at approximately 7.25 million shares. These firms are buying into CRAI's reputation for having consultants with deep academic rigor who can handle high-stakes assignments.

Here's a snapshot of the largest institutional holders and their positions based on 2025 fiscal year data:

Here's the quick math: with a total of approximately 6.56 million shares outstanding, the top few holders control a significant portion of the company. This means their trading activity can have a noticeable effect on the stock price.

Recent Shifts in Ownership: Who's Selling and Who's Buying

Looking at the Q2 2025 filings, the picture is mixed but generally reflects a tactical adjustment rather than a major flight. The big passive index funds like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. saw minor changes, with BlackRock, Inc. actually increasing its stake by 0.60% (an additional 3,406 shares) while The Vanguard Group, Inc. trimmed its position by 0.97%.

The most notable movement came from quantitative and active managers:

• Renaissance Technologies LLC, a major quantitative hedge fund, showed strong accumulation, boosting its stake by 11.32% (adding 26,078 shares).
• Conversely, Neuberger Berman Group LLC, an active manager, reduced its position by 2.75% (selling 17,623 shares).

These shifts suggest active managers are re-evaluating their positions, but the overall institutional ownership remains extremely high at 93.61% as of October 2025, indicating that the vast majority of professional money is sticking with the stock.

The Impact of Institutional Investors on Strategy and Stock

These large investors aren't just passive holders; they play a critical role in CRA International, Inc.'s strategy and stock performance. Their confidence is rooted in the company's strong Q3 2025 performance, where revenue hit $185.89 million and Non-GAAP EPS reached $2.06, both beating analyst consensus. This performance is tied directly to the demand for their specialized services.

Institutional buying is fueled by two key factors:

• Litigation & Regulatory Tailwinds: The Antitrust & Competition Economics practice achieved a new quarterly revenue high in Q3 2025, driven by a surge in worldwide M&A activity, which reached nearly $2 trillion in H1 FY2025. This work is high-margin and less sensitive to broader economic cycles.
• Capital Allocation: The firm's commitment to shareholder returns is a major draw. CRA International, Inc. recently increased its quarterly dividend by 16% to $0.57 per share (an annualized $2.28), which is a clear signal of financial health and management's commitment to returning capital.

In short, the large institutional stake acts as a floor for the stock, validating the company's focus on high-stakes, specialized consulting engagements that keep the revenue engine humming, even when the broader economy slows down. They are buying the stability and the consistent dividend growth.

Key Investors and Their Impact on CRA International, Inc. (CRAI)

You're looking at CRA International, Inc. (CRAI) and wondering who actually owns the company and how their moves affect your investment. The quick takeaway is that CRAI is a stock dominated by large, mostly passive institutional money-think index funds and big mutual fund families-which means company performance, not activist drama, is the main driver of stock price.

Institutional investors own a massive chunk of the company, with ownership figures recently reported between 84.13% and 92.56% of the outstanding shares. This is a signal of stability, but it also means the stock is highly sensitive to the company's core financial health.

Here's the quick math: when nearly nine out of every ten shares are held by a professional fund, their collective buying or selling based on earnings reports can move the market defintely.

Notable Investors: The Institutional Giants

The investor profile for CRA International, Inc. is a who's who of the world's largest asset managers. These aren't typically activist hedge funds trying to break up the company; they are the behemoths of passive and semi-passive investing. They buy because CRAI is a solid, profitable component of the indices they track.

The largest institutional holders, based on recent 13F filings for the 2025 fiscal year, include:

• BlackRock, Inc.: A top holder, representing a significant passive stake.
• FMR LLC (Fidelity): Another major fund family with a substantial position.
• Vanguard Group Inc: Known for its index funds, holding a core position.
• Neuberger Berman Group LLC: A key active manager with a large stake.
• RENAISSANCE TECHNOLOGIES LLC: A quantitative hedge fund, often making high-frequency, data-driven trades.

Investor Influence: Governance Over Activism

Because the largest holders are primarily passive funds, their influence on CRA International, Inc. is generally exerted through proxy voting, which is the process of voting on corporate matters like electing directors or approving executive pay. This is typical for a company that is performing well and isn't facing a major strategic crisis.

The focus for these giants is on long-term shareholder value (Total Shareholder Return, or TSR) and good corporate governance. They want to see the company continue its successful strategy of providing high-value economic and financial consulting services, which you can read more about in the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of CRA International, Inc. (CRAI).

What this estimate hides is that while they aren't publicly shouting, these funds still hold private conversations with management about key issues like environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors and capital allocation.

Recent Moves and Clear Actions

The most notable recent investor moves reflect confidence in CRA International, Inc.'s financial trajectory for 2025. When a company is hitting its numbers, the big funds generally stick around or add slightly.

For instance, BlackRock, Inc. increased its holding by a small but meaningful 0.60% in the quarter ending June 30, 2025. This move, plus the overall positive sentiment, is a vote of confidence in management's strategy.

The company's strong results in the third quarter of 2025, which saw revenue of $185.9 million and a subsequent raise in full-year guidance, directly impacted the stock. The stock price surged by 4.35% on the earnings announcement day, showing how quickly institutional sentiment translates into market movement.

The Board's decision to increase the quarterly cash dividend by 16% to $0.57 per common share, payable in December 2025, is a direct action to return capital and reward these patient, long-term shareholders. This signals management's belief in the stability of future cash flows.

For the full 2025 fiscal year, management has raised its revenue guidance to between $740.0 million and $748.0 million, with a non-GAAP EBITDA margin expected to land between 12.6% and 13.0%. This is the core data point driving the buy-side thesis right now.

Your clear action is to track the next quarterly earnings report closely, as that is what the institutional majority is trading on.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

You want to know what the big money thinks about CRA International, Inc. (CRAI), and the short answer is: they are defintely confident, but not blindly so. Institutional investors-the mutual funds, pension funds, and asset managers-own a staggering 89.06% of the company, which is a massive vote of confidence in the firm's long-term consulting model. That's a high level of institutional backing, and it means the stock's movements are driven by their collective sentiment.

The sentiment is currently a 'Moderate Buy' consensus among analysts, which is supported by the company's strong financial performance in the 2025 fiscal year. The market sees the firm's core business in litigation and regulatory consulting, particularly the Antitrust & Competition Economics practice, as a reliable growth engine. That practice alone saw an 11.5% year-over-year revenue increase in Q3 2025.

Who Owns CRAI and Why They're Holding

When you look at the shareholder list, you see the titans of asset management. These major institutions aren't buying for a quick flip; they are buying for stability and consistent returns. They see a company that generates strong cash flow and is committed to returning capital to shareholders, which is why they raised the quarterly cash dividend by 16% to $0.57 per share in late 2025.

Here's a quick look at the major institutional holders as of the latest reports in 2025, which tells you a lot about the quality of the investor base:

The presence of firms like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc., who are known for their passive index funds and long-term strategies, signals that CRA International, Inc. is considered a foundational component of the professional services sector. They are buying because CRAI is a well-managed company with a solid financial profile, as we detail further in Breaking Down CRA International, Inc. (CRAI) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Market Response to Recent Financials

The stock market's reaction to the company's Q3 2025 earnings, reported on October 30, 2025, was a clear positive signal. The firm beat analyst expectations across the board, reporting non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $2.06, significantly higher than the projected $1.80. Revenue also came in strong at $185.9 million, beating the anticipated $179.42 million.

This performance immediately drove management to raise its full-year 2025 revenue guidance to a range of $740.0 million-$748.0 million. This is the kind of concrete, upward revision that institutional investors love. It shows momentum and management confidence. Still, the stock has seen a modest pullback recently, with a 1-year total shareholder return of -7.3% as of early November 2025, suggesting some investors are taking profits after years of massive gains (the 5-year return is a substantial 332%). This is just market noise, not a structural problem.

Analyst Perspectives and Actionable Insights

Analysts are generally bullish, and they see a clear path for the stock to move higher. The current average analyst price target is $239.00, which implies a potential upside of over 32% from the stock's recent trading price of around $180.

The core of the analyst thesis is simple:

• Strong Legal Demand: High-stakes litigation and regulatory complexity (like the FirstEnergy Corp. auction management announced in November 2025) keep the firm's pipeline full.
• Margin Resilience: The revised non-GAAP EBITDA margin guidance of 12.6% to 13.0% for FY25 shows the company is maintaining profitability despite rising compensation costs.
• Undervaluation: The stock is trading at a discount to the average analyst price target, which suggests the market has not fully priced in the raised guidance and strong Q3 performance.

To be fair, there are limits. Insider selling, with the Chairman offloading US$1.9 million in shares in Q3 2025, is a data point that suggests caution, even if it's offset by the overall institutional buying. For you, this means the near-term risk is a small one, but the long-term opportunity, backed by the largest asset managers and strong 2025 financial performance, looks very compelling. Your next step should be to look at the stock's valuation ratios against its peers to see if that 32% upside is realistic.