Exponent, Inc. $EXPO Stake Raised by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPO) by 125.6% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 37,975 shares to own a total of 68,198 shares, valued at $5.5 million.
• Exponent reported $0.52 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding consensus estimates of $0.48, along with a year-over-year revenue growth of 7.3% to $132.87 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, set to be paid on September 19, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 125.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,198 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 37,975 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Exponent worth $5,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Exponent by 5,333.3% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 326 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 859.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 633 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Exponent in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exponent by 103.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 681 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 8,092.9% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,147 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Exponent Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ EXPO traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.03. The company had a trading volume of 697,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 385,640. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 35.02 and a beta of 0.89. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.81 and a 1-year high of $115.75.

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

Exponent Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,896 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total value of $348,056.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,782,602.78. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Joseph Sala sold 1,595 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.64, for a total transaction of $112,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,064 shares of company stock valued at $735,621. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

About Exponent

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.