Exponent, Inc. $EXPO Shares Purchased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 87,479.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 230,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 230,072 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Exponent were worth $15,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Exponent in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Exponent by 86.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank purchased a new stake in Exponent in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $667,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Exponent in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Exponent by 134.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,158 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 7,551 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $58.23 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.08 and a beta of 0.78. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.91 and a 12 month high of $81.95.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 27.94% and a net margin of 18.07%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Exponent’s payout ratio is 57.67%.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In other news, VP Joseph Sala sold 2,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.66, for a total transaction of $117,059.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Joseph Rakow sold 2,945 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.66, for a total value of $160,973.70. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,026 shares of company stock valued at $1,033,421 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EXPO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Exponent from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exponent presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

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.