NewEdge Wealth LLC Makes New $1.29 Million Investment in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 21,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,286,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Exponent by 423.6% during the 1st quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Exponent in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Exponent by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Exponent by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 717 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Exponent by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In other news, VP Bradley A. James sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.47, for a total transaction of $114,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,105 shares in the company, valued at $63,504.35. The trade was a 64.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,119 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total value of $235,318.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 106,670 shares in the company, valued at $6,094,057.10. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,826 shares of company stock worth $463,398. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Exponent Price Performance

EXPO stock opened at $70.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.48 and a beta of 0.68. Exponent, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.91 and a 52-week high of $81.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.60.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $171.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.99 million. Exponent had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 31.48%. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXPO has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on Exponent and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.00.

About Exponent

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.