BNP Paribas Financial Markets Lowers Stock Holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 55.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23,207 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Exponent were worth $1,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Exponent by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,345,503 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $476,284,000 after purchasing an additional 67,296 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Exponent by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,519,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $135,419,000 after purchasing an additional 13,932 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Exponent by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,188,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,884,000 after purchasing an additional 13,263 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Exponent by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 770,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,631,000 after purchasing an additional 53,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Exponent by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 739,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $65,908,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ EXPO opened at $80.05 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.74. Exponent, Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.37 and a twelve month high of $115.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76 and a beta of 0.95.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.27% and a net margin of 19.52%. The firm had revenue of $137.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.63 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Richard Reiss sold 1,736 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.93, for a total transaction of $149,174.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,674. This trade represents a 49.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.