Man Group plc Takes Position in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 160,212 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,414,000. Man Group plc owned 0.34% of Exponent at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EXPO. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 423.6% in the 1st quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Exponent during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings 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. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exponent by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 717 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exponent by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 907 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $71.53 on Friday. 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 $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.33 and a 200-day moving average of $64.53.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $171.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.99 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 31.48% and a net margin of 17.67%.Exponent's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Exponent's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.61%.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,707 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.28, for a total transaction of $113,139.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,557,278.24. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXPO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of Exponent and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.00.

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.

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