Allianz Asset Management GmbH Makes New $454,000 Investment in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH has invested approximately $454,000 in Exponent, Inc. by purchasing 5,600 shares, indicating confidence in the company's growth.
• Exponent recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, which translates to a 1.8% dividend yield for investors, with payment scheduled for September 19th.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52, surpassing expectations and showing a 7.3% revenue increase from the previous year.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,600 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Exponent by 5,333.3% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 326 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Exponent by 859.1% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 633 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Exponent during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Exponent by 103.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 681 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Exponent by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,460 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exponent Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of EXPO traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.50. The company had a trading volume of 108,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 310,500. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.78 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.94. Exponent, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.81 and a fifty-two week high of $115.75.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Exponent had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 24.19%. The business had revenue of $132.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Exponent's payout ratio is 60.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Joseph Rakow sold 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.72, for a total transaction of $122,253.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Bradley A. James sold 2,694 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.52, for a total transaction of $214,226.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,267 shares of company stock valued at $489,120. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Exponent 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.