UBS Group AG Buys 40,359 Shares of Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

UBS Group AG grew its stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 176,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 40,359 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Exponent were worth $12,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in EXPO. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 733,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,953,000 after acquiring an additional 4,695 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Exponent by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 705,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,980,000 after purchasing an additional 109,160 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Exponent by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 645,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,242,000 after purchasing an additional 88,350 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Exponent by 135.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 580,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,308,000 after purchasing an additional 334,154 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Exponent by 2.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 566,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,356,000 after purchasing an additional 11,705 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Joseph Rakow sold 2,945 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.66, for a total transaction of $160,973.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Joseph Sala sold 2,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.66, for a total value of $117,059.56. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,752 shares of company stock valued at $1,069,921. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Exponent from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Exponent Trading Down 1.6%

EXPO opened at $53.67 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.10 and a 200-day moving average of $69.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96 and a beta of 0.78. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.91 and a 1-year high of $81.95.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.53 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 27.94%. Exponent’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Exponent’s payout ratio is presently 57.67%.

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.