Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Acquires Shares of 48,597 Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 48,597 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,340,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.10% of Exponent as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Exponent in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Exponent in the first quarter worth $45,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Exponent in the first quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Exponent by 157.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 915 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Exponent Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPO traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.39. The stock had a trading volume of 164,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,412. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.96 and a beta of 0.68. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $101.65. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $79.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.40.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $113.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.11 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.69% and a return on equity of 28.49%. The business's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Exponent's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Exponent's payout ratio is 57.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on EXPO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Exponent from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Exponent from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In other news, insider Eric Guyer sold 3,367 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.49, for a total transaction of $264,275.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.20% 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.