Susquehanna International Group LLP Purchases 22,733 Shares of Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Susquehanna International Group LLP increased its holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 42.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,694 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,733 shares during the quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP owned approximately 0.16% of Exponent worth $4,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Exponent by 87,479.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 230,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,999,000 after purchasing an additional 230,072 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Exponent by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 176,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,253,000 after purchasing an additional 40,359 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 114.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 36,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 19,528 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 785.8% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 24,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,721,000 after purchasing an additional 21,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Exponent by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 652,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,295,000 after buying an additional 276,889 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,119 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $235,318.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,094,057.10. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on EXPO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on Exponent and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exponent presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

Exponent Price Performance

Shares of Exponent stock opened at $71.53 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 0.68. Exponent, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.91 and a 1 year high of $81.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.33 and its 200 day moving average is $64.43.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $171.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.99 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 31.48% and a net margin of 17.67%.Exponent’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Exponent’s payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

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.