Ameriprise Financial Inc. Boosts Holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 646,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,002 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Exponent were worth $57,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Exponent by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP increased its position in Exponent by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Exponent by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Exponent by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,723 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Exponent by 129.8% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Richard Reiss sold 1,736 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.93, for a total transaction of $149,174.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,674. This trade represents a 49.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Exponent Stock Down 0.7 %

Exponent stock opened at $76.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 36.17 and a beta of 0.95. Exponent, Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.37 and a twelve month high of $115.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.48.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.27% and a net margin of 19.52%. The firm had revenue of $137.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Exponent’s payout ratio is 58.54%.

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.