Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases 17,555 Shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 59.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,555 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $4,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Exponent by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,345,503 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $476,284,000 after buying an additional 67,296 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Exponent by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,519,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $135,419,000 after acquiring an additional 13,932 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Exponent by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,188,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,884,000 after acquiring an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Exponent by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 770,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,631,000 after acquiring an additional 53,227 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Exponent by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 739,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $65,908,000 after buying an additional 4,704 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Bradley A. James sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.52, for a total transaction of $214,226.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Reiss sold 1,736 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.93, for a total value of $149,174.48. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,674. This trade represents a 49.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,430 shares of company stock worth $516,041. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Exponent Trading Down 1.6%

Exponent stock opened at $76.20 on Monday. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.37 and a 1-year high of $115.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.98.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Exponent had a net margin of 19.52% and a return on equity of 27.27%. The firm had revenue of $137.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.63 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Exponent’s payout ratio is 58.54%.

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.