Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Has $234,000 Holdings in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH cut its holdings in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 81.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,527 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Exponent were worth $234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 0.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 18.3% in the third quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 705,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,980,000 after purchasing an additional 109,160 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 15.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 645,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,242,000 after purchasing an additional 88,350 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 135.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 580,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,308,000 after purchasing an additional 334,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 2.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 566,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,356,000 after purchasing an additional 11,705 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exponent Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $64.21 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.30. Exponent, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.25 and a fifty-two week high of $81.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.87 and a beta of 0.78.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.94% and a net margin of 18.07%.The firm had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Exponent from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exponent has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,909 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.70, for a total transaction of $264,639.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,018,865.20. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total value of $303,880.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 25,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,747.88. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 15,741 shares of company stock worth $1,095,768 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Company 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.