Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases New Position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired approximately $1.31 million worth of Exponent, Inc. shares, totaling 16,110 shares.
• Exponent recently reported earnings of $0.52 per share, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.48, with a revenue of $132.87 million.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share will be paid on September 19th, equating to an annualized yield of 1.7% based on a current payout ratio of 58.54%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,110 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Exponent by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,519,584 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $135,419,000 after purchasing an additional 13,932 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Exponent by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,188,373 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $105,884,000 after acquiring an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Exponent by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 770,270 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $68,631,000 after purchasing an additional 53,227 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Exponent by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 739,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $65,908,000 after acquiring an additional 4,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Exponent by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 646,026 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,561,000 after acquiring an additional 44,002 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Exponent Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of Exponent stock traded up $1.80 during trading on Monday, reaching $70.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 108,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 310,039. Exponent, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.81 and a 52-week high of $115.75. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50-day moving average is $74.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.15.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Exponent had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 24.19%. The business had revenue of $132.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Exponent's payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John Pye sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $152,640.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 29,204 shares in the company, valued at $2,228,849.28. This represents a 6.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Joseph Rakow sold 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.72, for a total value of $122,253.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,267 shares of company stock worth $489,120. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Exponent Company Profile

Exponent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering.