Argent Trust Co Acquires Shares of 2,311 Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Argent Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Exponent during the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Exponent during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,786,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Exponent by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 76,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,741,000 after acquiring an additional 22,410 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Exponent by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,941 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exponent Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ EXPO opened at $110.77 on Friday. Exponent, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.61 and a 52-week high of $113.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $105.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.96 and a beta of 0.66.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.07. Exponent had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 19.35%. The business had revenue of $132.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Exponent in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In other news, VP John Pye sold 3,956 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $415,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,984,310. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.