Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Boosts Holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,998 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,498 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.10% of Exponent worth $4,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 6.7% during the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 2,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 1.7% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,941 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 8.9% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of Exponent stock opened at $96.48 on Wednesday. Exponent, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.61 and a 52-week high of $102.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.73 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $90.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.82.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.13. Exponent had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 28.13%. The firm had revenue of $137.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Exponent from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Exponent from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In related news, Director Paul R. Johnston sold 6,000 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.11, for a total value of $570,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 79,236 shares in the company, valued at $7,536,135.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Paul R. Johnston sold 7,000 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.95, for a total value of $657,650.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 79,236 shares in the company, valued at $7,444,222.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul R. Johnston sold 6,000 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.11, for a total transaction of $570,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 79,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,536,135.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,067 shares of company stock worth $4,734,995 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Company 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.