Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Sells 26,595 Shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,776,034 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 26,595 shares during the period. Exponent accounts for about 3.4% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned about 5.46% of Exponent worth $225,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exponent by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Exponent by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,747 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,723 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,312,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 129.8% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,418 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In other news, VP Joseph Rakow sold 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.72, for a total transaction of $122,253.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John Pye sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $152,640.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 29,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,228,849.28. This represents a 6.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,267 shares of company stock worth $489,120. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Exponent Stock Performance

Exponent stock traded down $2.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $72.88. 851,592 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 256,439. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55 and a beta of 0.92. Exponent, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.85 and a fifty-two week high of $115.75.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $137.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $134.63 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 25.33%. The business's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Exponent's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.54%.

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.