Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Shares Sold by Hardy Reed LLC

Hardy Reed LLC lowered its holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 358 shares during the quarter. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXPO. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Exponent by 24.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,458,000 after acquiring an additional 4,250 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Exponent during the third quarter valued at $11,261,000. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its position in Exponent by 5.7% during the third quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 24,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in Exponent by 40.3% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 23,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,675,000 after buying an additional 6,665 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Stock Performance

EXPO stock opened at $87.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 41.38 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $90.79 and its 200 day moving average is $99.80. Exponent, Inc. has a one year low of $75.81 and a one year high of $115.75.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. Exponent had a net margin of 19.52% and a return on equity of 27.27%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Research analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.83%.

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.