Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $55.13 Million Investment in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 618,751 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $55,131,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.22% of Exponent as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXPO. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Exponent by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its position in Exponent by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,123 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Exponent by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,723 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Exponent by 129.8% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,574 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Richard Reiss sold 1,736 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.93, for a total value of $149,174.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $154,674. This represents a 49.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Exponent Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ EXPO traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $83.09. 366,202 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 270,639. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19 and a beta of 0.77. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.21 and a 1-year high of $115.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.86.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.27% and a net margin of 19.52%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Exponent's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Exponent's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.60%.

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.