Riverbridge Partners LLC Sells 40,146 Shares of Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Riverbridge Partners LLC lowered its stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 483,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 40,146 shares during the quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned about 0.96% of Exponent worth $33,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Exponent during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,752,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exponent by 543.1% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 305,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,742,000 after buying an additional 257,766 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Exponent in the 2nd quarter worth $18,377,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Exponent in the 1st quarter worth $15,349,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its holdings in Exponent by 49.9% during the second quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 501,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,448,000 after acquiring an additional 166,930 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. William Blair raised shares of Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price objective (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Exponent in a report on Monday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,930 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.82, for a total value of $329,422.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 82,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,529,555.46. The trade was a 5.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,055 shares of company stock valued at $902,470. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Exponent Stock Down 1.7%

Exponent stock opened at $72.02 on Monday. Exponent, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.81 and a 52-week high of $97.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.68 and its 200 day moving average is $71.48. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13 and a beta of 0.82.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Exponent had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 24.77%. The firm had revenue of $147.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.54%.

Exponent declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Exponent Profile

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.