Exponent, Inc. $EXPO Stock Position Trimmed by EULAV Asset Management

Key Points

• EULAV Asset Management trimmed its Exponent stake by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 49,500 shares and leaving it with 262,100 shares valued at about $18.2 million.
• Exponent reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, posting EPS of $0.59 versus the $0.56 consensus and revenue of $166.3 million, up 14.3% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share payable June 18, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $77.50.

EULAV Asset Management cut its position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 262,100 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 49,500 shares during the quarter. EULAV Asset Management owned about 0.53% of Exponent worth $18,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Exponent by 97.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Exponent during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Exponent by 86.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Exponent by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 576 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Exponent by 145.4% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 584 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In related news, VP Joseph Sala sold 2,066 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.66, for a total value of $117,059.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,194 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.06, for a total transaction of $226,727.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 105,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,688,085.08. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 19,026 shares of company stock valued at $1,148,361 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Exponent Price Performance

NASDAQ EXPO opened at $59.66 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $62.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.51. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.91 and a 12 month high of $81.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75 and a beta of 0.72.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 27.94%. The business had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on EXPO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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 restated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.50.

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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