Insider Selling: Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Sells $235,318.47 in Stock

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,119 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $235,318.47. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 106,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,094,057.10. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Catherine Corrigan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 15th, Catherine Corrigan sold 4,194 shares of Exponent stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.06, for a total transaction of $226,727.64.
• On Wednesday, April 15th, Catherine Corrigan sold 3,909 shares of Exponent stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.70, for a total transaction of $264,639.30.

Exponent Price Performance

Exponent stock opened at $56.89 on Friday. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.91 and a 12 month high of $81.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.56.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $166.30 million during 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%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Exponent’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 57.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXPO has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exponent

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its stake 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Exponent in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Exponent by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 576 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.