PineStone Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,811 shares during the quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Exponent were worth $8,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Exponent in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Exponent during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Exponent in the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Exponent by 127.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Exponent by 74.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exponent Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ EXPO opened at $88.66 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.82 and a beta of 0.71. Exponent, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.39 and a twelve month high of $115.75.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. Exponent had a net margin of 19.52% and a return on equity of 27.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Research analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.83%.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In other Exponent news, Director Paul R. Johnston sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total transaction of $123,539.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 59,406 shares in the company, valued at $5,645,352.18. The trade was a 2.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.