Vanguard Group Inc. Has $357.23 Million Holdings in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,143,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 107,743 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Exponent worth $357,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Exponent by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 733,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,953,000 after acquiring an additional 4,695 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Exponent by 18.3% during the third quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 705,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,980,000 after acquiring an additional 109,160 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Exponent by 15.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 645,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,242,000 after purchasing an additional 88,350 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Exponent by 135.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 580,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,308,000 after purchasing an additional 334,154 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Exponent by 2.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 566,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,356,000 after purchasing an additional 11,705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ EXPO opened at $64.21 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.30. Exponent, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.25 and a 12-month high of $81.95.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.53 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 27.94%. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total value of $263,228.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,294,036.65. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total value of $303,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 25,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,747.88. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,741 shares of company stock worth $1,095,768. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EXPO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Exponent from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc (NASDAQ: EXPO) is an engineering and scientific consulting firm that offers multidisciplinary analysis and advisory services to clients across a range of industries. The company’s expertise spans mechanical, materials and corrosion engineering, civil and structural engineering, electrical engineering, industrial hygiene, toxicology and health sciences, and failure analysis. Exponent provides support for product design, performance evaluation, litigation consulting, and regulatory compliance, helping manufacturers, insurers, law firms and government agencies address complex technical challenges.

Founded in 1967 in Menlo Park, California, Exponent has grown from a small failure-analysis laboratory into a global consulting practice.