Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 18,790 Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors acquired 18,790 Exponent shares worth approximately $1.1 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 92.37% of the company.
• Exponent reported quarterly EPS of $0.60, beating estimates by $0.05, while revenue rose 12% year over year to $171.61 million. The stock recently traded at $71.15, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average $81 price target.
• Exponent declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equivalent to $1.24 annually and a 1.7% yield. CEO Catherine Corrigan separately sold 4,119 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,790 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,104,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Exponent by 87,479.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 230,335 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,999,000 after buying an additional 230,072 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Exponent by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 62,350 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,331,000 after buying an additional 25,537 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Exponent by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 176,404 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,253,000 after buying an additional 40,359 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,392,499 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $166,183,000 after acquiring an additional 31,303 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 114.3% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 36,614 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 19,528 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In other Exponent news, 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 transaction of $235,318.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 106,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,094,057.10. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Exponent Trading Up 1.2%

Exponent stock opened at $71.15 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.48. Exponent, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.91 and a twelve month high of $81.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 0.68.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Exponent had a return on equity of 31.48% and a net margin of 17.67%.The business had revenue of $171.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.31 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 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Exponent's payout ratio is currently 55.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of Exponent and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.00.

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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