Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information. We first offered our common stock to the public on April 23, 1998. Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol CRAI.
Shareholders. We had approximately 62 holders of record of our common stock as of February 23, 2024. This number does not include shareholders for whom shares were held in a "nominee" or "street" name.
Repurchases of Equity Securities. The following table provides information about our repurchases of shares of our common stock during the fiscal quarter ended December 30, 2023. During that period, we did not act in concert with any affiliate or any other person to acquire any of our common stock and, accordingly, we do not believe that purchases by any such affiliate or other person (if any) are reportable in the following table. For purposes of this table, we have divided the fiscal quarter into three periods of four weeks, four weeks and five weeks, respectively, to coincide with our reporting periods during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Period (a)
Total Number
of Shares
Purchased(1) (b)
Average Price
Paid per Share(1) (c)
Total Number of Shares
Purchased as Part of
Publicly Announced
Plans or Programs (d)
Approximate
Dollar Value of
Shares that May Yet
Be Purchased
Under the Plans
or Programs(2)
October 1, 2023 to October 28, 2023 — $ — — $ 19,277,193
October 29, 2023 to November 25, 2023 84,187 $ 93.13 84,187 $ 11,436,962
November 26, 2023 to December 30, 2023 10,469 $ 97.68 — $ 11,436,962
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(1) During the five weeks ended December 30, 2023, we accepted 10,469 shares of our common stock as a tax withholding from certain of our employees in connection with the vesting of restricted stock units that occurred during the period, pursuant to the terms of our 2006 equity incentive plan, at the average price per share of $97.68.
(2) On February 29, 2024, we announced that our Board of Directors authorized an expansion to our existing share repurchase program of an additional $35.0 million of outstanding shares of our common stock. We may repurchase shares under this program in open market purchases (including through any Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted by us) or in privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable insider trading and other securities laws and regulations. Approximately $11.4 million and $46.4 million was available for future repurchases under this program as of December 30, 2023 and February 29, 2024, respectively. We expect to continue to repurchase shares under this program.
Shareholder Return Performance Graph and Dividend Information. (1) The graph below compares the cumulative 5-year total return of holders of our common stock with the cumulative total returns of the NASDAQ Composite index and a customized peer group of three companies consisting of Exponent Inc., FTI Consulting Inc. and Huron Consulting Group Inc.
The graph tracks the cumulative shareholder return calculated on a dividend-reinvested basis of a $100 investment in our common stock, in a customized peer group, and in a market index over a 5-year period. The graph assumes the $100 was invested on the last calendar day of 2018 in stock or an index, where the index is calculated on a month-end basis. We initiated a quarterly dividend in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 and continued to pay quarterly dividends throughout fiscal 2023.
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Although we anticipate paying regular quarterly dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, the declaration of any future dividends is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors.
COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN
Among CRA International, Inc., the NASDAQ Composite Index, and a Peer Group
December 29,
2018 December 28,
2019 January 2,
2021 January 1,
2022 December 31,
2022 December 30,
2023
CRA International, Inc. $ 100.00 $ 133.34 $ 129.55 $ 240.51 $ 319.70 $ 261.99
NASDAQ Composite $ 100.00 $ 136.69 $ 198.10 $ 242.03 $ 163.28 $ 236.17
Peer Group $ 100.00 $ 152.42 $ 167.78 $ 213.25 $ 210.07 $ 236.16
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(1) This performance graph shall not be deemed to be "soliciting material" or to be "filed" with the SEC for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing of CRA International, Inc. under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
The stock price performance included in this graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.
Item 6. [Reserved]