Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 43,247 Shares of Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Neuberger Berman Group LLC cut its position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,563,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 43,247 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned 3.10% of Exponent worth $108,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXPO. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Exponent by 97.0% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Exponent in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exponent during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Exponent during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. raised its position in shares of Exponent by 33.9% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 589 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Exponent Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of Exponent stock opened at $71.90 on Friday. Exponent, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.81 and a 52 week high of $87.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $72.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.08. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Exponent Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Exponent’s payout ratio is presently 57.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXPO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair upgraded Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Exponent in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Exponent in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Exponent currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total value of $263,228.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,731 shares in the company, 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 hyperlink. Also, VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total transaction of $303,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 25,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,914,747.88. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,808 shares of company stock worth $915,845 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.