Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,421 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 40,370 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.26% of Exponent worth $15,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Exponent in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,904,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Exponent by 5.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,286,652 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $437,153,000 after purchasing an additional 291,047 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $441,414,000 after buying an additional 284,179 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Exponent during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,050,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Exponent in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,261,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Exponent Stock Performance

EXPO stock traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.40. The company had a trading volume of 242,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,660. Exponent, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.70 and a fifty-two week high of $115.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.05 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.04.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Exponent's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Exponent in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul R. Johnston sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total value of $726,810.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 80,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,383,441.86. This represents a 7.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Carol Lindstrom sold 1,039 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.32, for a total value of $100,076.48. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $565,494.72. The trade was a 15.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,039 shares of company stock worth $2,291,286 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Exponent 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.