BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 43,352 Shares of Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its Exponent stake by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 43,352 shares and leaving it with 156,148 shares valued at about $10.8 million.
• Several other institutional investors were active in the stock, and 92.37% of Exponent is now held by institutions; meanwhile, insiders have also been selling shares, including the CEO and a vice president.
• Exponent reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $0.59 and revenue of $166.3 million, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, yielding about 2.1% annually.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 156,148 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 43,352 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.31% of Exponent worth $10,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Exponent during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,166,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Exponent during the 4th quarter worth about $88,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Exponent by 102.1% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 22,117 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 11,173 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Exponent by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 652,109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,295,000 after acquiring an additional 276,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summitry LLC increased its position in Exponent by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 7,081 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In related news, VP Bradley A. James sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.47, for a total value of $114,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,504.35. This represents a 64.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.06, for a total value of $226,727.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 105,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,688,085.08. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,026 shares of company stock worth $1,148,361 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $59.66 on Monday. Exponent, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.91 and a 52 week high of $81.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.51.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.53 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.94% and a net margin of 18.07%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Exponent's payout ratio is presently 57.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXPO has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Exponent in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.50.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EXPO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.