Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 32.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,101 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,907 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.09% of Exponent worth $4,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Exponent in the third quarter worth $26,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Exponent in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exponent in the third quarter worth $64,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Exponent by 127.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 604 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Exponent Trading Down 1.1 %

Exponent stock traded down $0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 321,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,787. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.56. Exponent, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.81 and a twelve month high of $115.75.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.46 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Exponent's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Exponent's payout ratio is currently 52.83%.

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.