Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,101 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,907 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Exponent worth $4,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Exponent in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Exponent in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exponent in the third quarter worth about $64,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Exponent by 127.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Exponent by 74.7% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 903 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of EXPO opened at $87.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.35 and a beta of 0.71. Exponent, Inc. has a one year low of $75.81 and a one year high of $115.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.88.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 19.52%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is a positive change from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.83%.

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.