Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys Shares of 415,958 Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 415,958 Exponent shares worth approximately $24.4 million, giving it a 0.86% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 92.37% of EXPO.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $81; JPMorgan raised its target to $90, while UBS assigned a neutral rating with a $72 target.
• Exponent reported quarterly EPS of $0.60, exceeding estimates by $0.05, while revenue rose 12% year over year to $171.61 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equivalent to a 1.7% yield.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 415,958 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $24,442,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.86% of Exponent at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EXPO. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Exponent during the 2nd quarter valued at $120,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent during the second quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Exponent in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,124,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Exponent in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,312,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Exponent by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on Exponent and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.00.

Exponent Stock Performance

Exponent stock opened at $71.53 on Monday. Exponent, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.91 and a twelve month high of $81.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $64.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.43.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Exponent had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 31.48%. The business had revenue of $171.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Exponent's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Exponent's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,119 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total value of $235,318.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 106,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,094,057.10. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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