Exponent, Inc. $EXPO Stock: Riverbridge Partners LLC Reduces Stake

Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 348,864 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,070 shares during the quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $22,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gibbs Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Exponent by 3.1% during the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 4,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Exponent by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Exponent by 37.1% during 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 in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 12,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exponent Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Exponent stock opened at $86.00 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.05. Exponent, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.91 and a 52-week high of $90.51. The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.04. Exponent had a net margin of 17.40% and a return on equity of 34.61%. The company had revenue of $173.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Exponent’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 53.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.28, for a total transaction of $113,139.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,557,278.24. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Richard Reiss sold 1,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.44, for a total value of $110,643.20. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,131.52. This represents a 55.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXPO has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Exponent from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Exponent from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research raised Exponent from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Exponent from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.00.

Exponent Company Profile

Exponent, Inc. is a multidisciplinary engineering and scientific consulting firm that helps clients investigate complex technical issues and manage risk. Its consultants analyze incidents such as product failures and accidents, assess potential hazards, and provide expert advice on engineering, scientific, and regulatory matters. The company’s services span fields including engineering, materials science, environmental science, health, and data analytics. Clients use Exponent’s expertise for product development and testing, litigation support, regulatory compliance, and risk assessment across a range of industries.