Exponent, Inc. $EXPO Shares Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. dramatically increased its stake in Exponent, buying 230,072 additional shares in Q4 and lifting its holdings to 230,335 shares worth about $16 million.
• Analysts have grown more cautious on the stock: UBS and JPMorgan both cut their price targets, while the overall consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a $77.50 target.
• Exponent reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share to be paid on June 18.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 87,479.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 230,335 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 230,072 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.46% of Exponent worth $15,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Exponent in the third quarter valued at $427,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Exponent by 46.2% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 90,658 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,299,000 after buying an additional 28,629 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Exponent by 157.3% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 36,813 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,558,000 after buying an additional 22,503 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Exponent by 18.3% in the third quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 705,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,980,000 after buying an additional 109,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in Exponent by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 554,193 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,494,000 after buying an additional 71,178 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on EXPO. UBS Group cut their target price on Exponent from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.50.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In related news, VP Joseph Sala sold 2,066 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.66, for a total value of $117,059.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,194 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.06, for a total value of $226,727.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 105,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,688,085.08. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 17,026 shares of company stock worth $1,033,421 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Exponent Stock Performance

EXPO opened at $58.23 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $64.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.57. Exponent, Inc. has a one year low of $51.91 and a one year high of $81.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.08 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Exponent Announces Dividend

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

Exponent Company 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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