Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management increased its stake in Exponent by 3.5% in the first quarter, ending with 691,256 shares valued at about $45.1 million.
• Exponent reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.59 versus estimates of $0.56 and revenue of $166.3 million, up 14.3% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, while insiders sold shares in recent months and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $77.50.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 691,256 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 23,154 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 1.42% of Exponent worth $45,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPO. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Exponent by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,709 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Exponent by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 576 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its stake in shares of Exponent by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Exponent by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 8,525 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Exponent Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ EXPO opened at $60.95 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35 and a beta of 0.72. Exponent, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.91 and a 52 week high of $81.95.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Exponent's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Exponent's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exponent news, VP Joseph Sala sold 2,066 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,119 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total value of $235,318.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 106,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,094,057.10. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 19,233 shares of company stock worth $1,119,659 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on EXPO. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Exponent in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 15th. 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Exponent has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.50.

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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