Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Stock Position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EXPO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Exponent during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,619,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Exponent by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,057,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $104,743,000 after acquiring an additional 493,847 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Exponent by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 565,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,340,000 after acquiring an additional 247,075 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Exponent by 550.2% in the 2nd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 172,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,785,000 after acquiring an additional 146,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP grew its position in shares of Exponent by 1,000.8% in the 1st quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 144,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,386,000 after acquiring an additional 131,206 shares in the last quarter. 89.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In other news, VP Steven J. Murray sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $89,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 27,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,453,374. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXPO has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Exponent from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 31st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Exponent in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Exponent Price Performance

Shares of EXPO opened at $73.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.26 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.51. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $112.75.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The business services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.01). Exponent had a return on equity of 29.69% and a net margin of 18.83%. The company had revenue of $133.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Exponent’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Exponent’s payout ratio is 52.53%.

Exponent Profile

Exponent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering.