Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO – Get Rating) by 42.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,193 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 118,260 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,718,000 after buying an additional 22,315 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 35,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,521,000 after buying an additional 4,759 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,651 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 93,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,271,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Exponent in the 4th quarter valued at $372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXPO has been the topic of several recent research reports. TheStreet cut shares of Exponent from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Exponent in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Exponent Price Performance

EXPO opened at $88.72 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.27 and a beta of 0.64. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.97 and a 12 month high of $112.75.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The business services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The business had revenue of $140.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $127.17 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 19.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 8th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 53.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exponent news, VP Joseph Rakow sold 1,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.59, for a total transaction of $120,186.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Harri Kytomaa sold 350 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total transaction of $36,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,487.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Joseph Rakow sold 1,388 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.59, for a total value of $120,186.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Exponent Company Profile

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Exponent, Inc is an engineering and scientific consulting company, which engages in the provision of engineering, scientific, environmental, and health consulting services. It operates through the Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health segments. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment includes technical consulting in different practices primarily in engineering.