Tortoise Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 76.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 440 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $39,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exponent during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Exponent by 9.5% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Exponent by 50.5% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 9,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 3,165 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exponent by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exponent by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $183,388,000 after purchasing an additional 27,339 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Price Performance

Shares of EXPO stock opened at $83.09 on Wednesday. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.21 and a 1-year high of $115.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 39.19 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $88.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.86.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 56.60%.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In other Exponent news, VP Richard Reiss sold 1,736 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.93, for a total transaction of $149,174.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,800 shares in the company, valued at $154,674. This represents a 49.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.