Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 105,761 Shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 45.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,047 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 105,761 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Exponent were worth $14,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Exponent by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 7,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 4.2% during the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Exponent by 67.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 379 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Exponent by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 63,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,256,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Exponent Price Performance

EXPO opened at $96.92 on Friday. Exponent, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.61 and a fifty-two week high of $115.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 47.28 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $108.99 and its 200 day moving average is $100.16.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Exponent had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $125.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.96 million. As a group, analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In other news, VP John Pye sold 3,956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 28,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,984,310. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company 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.