Riverbridge Partners LLC Sells 21,074 Shares of Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 533,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21,074 shares during the quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $34,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its position in Exponent by 423.6% in 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. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Exponent during the third quarter worth $33,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Exponent by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exponent by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 576 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Exponent by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Exponent news, VP Bradley A. James sold 2,000 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 1,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,504.35. This trade represents a 64.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $117,059.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,233 shares of company stock worth $1,119,659. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EXPO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target 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 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Exponent currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.50.

Exponent Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $57.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.28. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Exponent had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 27.94%. The company had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.67%.

Exponent Profile

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.