Malaga Cove Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Malaga Cove Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 147.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,171 shares during the quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Exponent by 129.8% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Exponent during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Exponent by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Exponent in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Exponent during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In related news, VP Richard Reiss sold 1,736 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $154,674. This represents a 49.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Price Performance

Exponent stock opened at $79.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.33 and a beta of 0.95. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.37 and a 12 month high of $115.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.58 and its 200-day moving average is $88.17.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $137.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.63 million. Exponent had a net margin of 19.52% and a return on equity of 27.27%. Exponent’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.54%.

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.