EULAV Asset Management Has $18.21 Million Holdings in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

EULAV Asset Management lowered its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 262,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 49,500 shares during the quarter. EULAV Asset Management’s holdings in Exponent were worth $18,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exponent by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,392,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,183,000 after acquiring an additional 31,303 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,166,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Exponent by 0.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 733,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,953,000 after acquiring an additional 4,695 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Exponent by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 652,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,295,000 after acquiring an additional 276,889 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Exponent by 15.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 645,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,242,000 after acquiring an additional 88,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of EXPO opened at $59.66 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.51. Exponent, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.91 and a 52 week high of $81.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Exponent’s payout ratio is presently 57.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EXPO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.50.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In related news, VP Joseph Sala sold 2,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.66, for a total transaction of $117,059.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.06, for a total transaction of $226,727.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 105,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,688,085.08. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,026 shares of company stock valued at $1,148,361. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.