Granite Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Granite Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 22.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 22,915 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $5,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EXPO. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Exponent by 97.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Exponent in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Exponent in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Exponent in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 33.9% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 589 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Exponent in a report on Monday, January 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Exponent in a research report on Monday, February 9th. William Blair upgraded shares of Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.50.

Exponent Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $70.16 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.97. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73 and a beta of 0.79. Exponent, Inc. has a twelve month low of $63.81 and a twelve month high of $87.88.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $147.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.48 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.21% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.69%.

Exponent announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,731 shares in the company, valued at $6,294,036.65. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of Exponent 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 sale, the vice president owned 25,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,747.88. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,808 shares of company stock worth $915,845. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Profile

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.