Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 4,521 Shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 35.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,521 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Exponent were worth $1,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Exponent in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,340,000. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Exponent by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 172,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,219,000 after buying an additional 66,664 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Exponent by 261.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,975,000 after buying an additional 40,886 shares during the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Exponent in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,213,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Exponent by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 35,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,040,000 after buying an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $94.46 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.66 and a 200-day moving average of $82.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.71 and a beta of 0.64. Exponent, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.61 and a twelve month high of $102.72.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.13. Exponent had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 28.13%. The business had revenue of $137.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. Exponent’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Exponent’s payout ratio is 56.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EXPO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Exponent from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Exponent from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In other news, VP Bradley A. James sold 3,528 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $335,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $192,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Eric Guyer sold 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $152,757.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,902.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Bradley A. James sold 3,528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $335,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,030 shares in the company, valued at $192,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,191 shares of company stock worth $489,126 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Exponent Company 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.