Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP Richard Reiss Sells 1,736 Shares

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP Richard Reiss sold 1,736 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.93, for a total value of $149,174.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,674. This trade represents a 49.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Exponent Price Performance

EXPO traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $85.64. The stock had a trading volume of 36,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,591. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.40 and a beta of 0.71. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.21 and a 1-year high of $115.75.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.27% and a net margin of 19.52%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 56.60%.

Institutional Trading of Exponent

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent in the 4th quarter valued at about $413,000. US Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $278,000. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exponent in the fourth quarter worth $226,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Exponent by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 159,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,179,000 after purchasing an additional 20,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Exponent by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 46,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,183,000 after purchasing an additional 17,555 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Exponent

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.