Exponent, Inc. $EXPO Shares Acquired by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 19.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 76,085 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,151 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Exponent were worth $5,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Exponent by 97.0% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Exponent during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exponent during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Exponent during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Exponent Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ EXPO opened at $72.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99 and a beta of 0.79. Exponent, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.81 and a 52-week high of $87.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $72.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.99.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Exponent had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 18.21%.The business had revenue of $147.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.48 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,914,747.88. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of the company’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 transaction of $263,228.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,294,036.65. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,808 shares of company stock valued at $915,845. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.