Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys New Stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $129,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Exponent by 67.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 379 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Exponent by 866.0% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 512 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Exponent by 166.5% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Exponent by 293.7% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 626 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Exponent in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In other Exponent news, VP John Pye sold 3,956 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $415,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,984,310. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Exponent news, Director Paul R. Johnston sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.50, for a total transaction of $668,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 80,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,710,861. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Pye sold 3,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $415,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,984,310. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Stock Performance

EXPO opened at $107.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 54.19 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.04 and its 200-day moving average is $93.55. Exponent, Inc. has a one year low of $64.61 and a one year high of $108.80.

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

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Exponent

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.