Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $1.20 Million Stake in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Exponent were worth $1,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXPO. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Exponent during the third quarter worth about $29,780,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Exponent by 135.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 580,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,308,000 after acquiring an additional 334,154 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in Exponent by 49.9% during the second quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 501,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,448,000 after acquiring an additional 166,930 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Exponent by 1,481.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 127,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,313,000 after acquiring an additional 119,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Exponent from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exponent has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exponent news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,909 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.70, for a total transaction of $264,639.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,018,865.20. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total transaction of $303,880.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 25,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,914,747.88. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 15,741 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,768 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $65.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.67 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.33. Exponent, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.25 and a fifty-two week high of $81.95.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $166.30 million during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Research analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.67%.

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.