Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Sells 2,600 Shares of Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 121,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Exponent accounts for 2.3% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd owned 0.24% of Exponent worth $9,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EXPO. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Exponent by 10,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Exponent by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 829 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exponent in the 1st quarter worth $80,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Exponent by 8,092.9% in 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 buying an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exponent Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $70.81 on Monday. Exponent, Inc. has a one year low of $63.81 and a one year high of $112.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.41 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.97.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Exponent had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 24.19%. The business had revenue of $137.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 58.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.82, for a total value of $329,422.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 82,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,529,555.46. The trade was a 5.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Joseph Sala sold 1,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.64, for a total transaction of $112,670.80. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,326 shares of company stock valued at $1,133,059. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Exponent 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.