Argent Capital Management LLC Acquires 4,173 Shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,323 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,173 shares during the quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Exponent worth $2,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exponent by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,640,600 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $441,414,000 after buying an additional 284,179 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exponent by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,806,517 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $323,535,000 after buying an additional 43,257 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Exponent by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,840,313 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $212,151,000 after purchasing an additional 13,644 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Exponent by 1.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Exponent by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,505,652 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $173,597,000 after purchasing an additional 69,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carol Lindstrom sold 1,039 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.32, for a total value of $100,076.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,871 shares in the company, valued at $565,494.72. The trade was a 15.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul R. Johnston sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total transaction of $123,539.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 59,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,645,352.18. This trade represents a 2.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,339 shares of company stock worth $3,103,065 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Exponent Stock Up 1.4 %

EXPO stock traded up $1.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $92.75. The company had a trading volume of 153,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,015. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.81 and a beta of 0.71. Exponent, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.70 and a 12-month high of $115.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.50.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Exponent's payout ratio is currently 54.11%.

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.