Argent Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Argent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 28,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,173 shares during the quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $2,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Exponent during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Exponent in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Exponent during the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Exponent during the third quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Exponent by 64.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In related news, Director Paul R. Johnston sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total value of $726,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 80,742 shares in the company, valued at $8,383,441.86. This trade represents a 7.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carol Lindstrom sold 1,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.32, for a total value of $100,076.48. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,494.72. The trade was a 15.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,339 shares of company stock valued at $3,103,065. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Stock Performance

EXPO stock opened at $91.46 on Thursday. Exponent, Inc. has a one year low of $68.70 and a one year high of $115.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.18 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.50.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.11%.

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.