Exponent, Inc. $EXPO Stock Holdings Lessened by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp lowered its stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 26,980 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Exponent were worth $2,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPO. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Exponent during the 1st quarter valued at $270,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Exponent by 1,481.0% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 127,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,313,000 after purchasing an additional 119,175 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Exponent by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 554,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,444,000 after purchasing an additional 17,930 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Exponent during the 2nd quarter valued at $18,377,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC raised its stake in Exponent by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 6,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exponent Stock Down 4.9%

Exponent stock opened at $57.19 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.07. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.09 and a 12 month high of $81.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60 and a beta of 0.78.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Exponent had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 27.94%. The business had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Exponent’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 57.67%.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total transaction of $263,228.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,731 shares in the company, valued at $6,294,036.65. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,741 shares of company stock worth $791,888. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Exponent from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.00.

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.