Comerica Bank Acquires 18,029 Shares of Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its investment in Exponent, Inc. by 7.5%, now holding approximately 0.51% of the company, worth about $20.86 million.
• Exponent reported earnings of $0.52 EPS, exceeding expectations, with a net margin of 18.35% and revenue of $132.87 million for the recent quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with an expected annual yield of 1.7%.

Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 257,366 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,029 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned about 0.51% of Exponent worth $20,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 10,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 309 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Exponent by 859.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 633 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Exponent by 103.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 681 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Exponent in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exponent news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total transaction of $348,056.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,782,602.78. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Joseph Sala sold 1,595 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.64, for a total value of $112,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Exponent Price Performance

Shares of EXPO traded down $0.75 on Thursday, reaching $72.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 505,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 465,662. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $72.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49 and a beta of 0.89. Exponent, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.81 and a 12-month high of $115.75.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $132.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.82 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 24.19%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

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

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.