Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Shares Bought by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 202,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,255 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Exponent were worth $18,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EXPO. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Exponent by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 22.1% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 725.5% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,396 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 13,531 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in Exponent by 7.9% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 23,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,721,000 after buying an additional 1,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Exponent by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,284,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In other news, VP Richard Reiss sold 1,736 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.93, for a total transaction of $149,174.48. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,674. This trade represents a 49.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Exponent Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXPO opened at $82.73 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.35. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02 and a beta of 0.77. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.27 and a 12 month high of $115.75.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. Exponent had a net margin of 19.52% and a return on equity of 27.27%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.60%.

Exponent Company Profile

Exponent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering.