Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Holdings in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 112,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,300 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.23% of Exponent worth $7,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Exponent by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 733,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,953,000 after purchasing an additional 4,695 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 705,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,980,000 after acquiring an additional 109,160 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 645,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,242,000 after acquiring an additional 88,350 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Exponent by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 638,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,671,000 after purchasing an additional 128,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Exponent in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,752,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Price Performance

Exponent stock opened at $64.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00 and a beta of 0.77. Exponent, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.25 and a 12-month high of $83.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.62.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $147.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.48 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.21% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Exponent’s payout ratio is 59.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Exponent in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exponent has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total transaction of $263,228.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,294,036.65. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total transaction of $303,880.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 25,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,914,747.88. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,583 shares of company stock valued at $687,709. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About Exponent

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.