Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 570 Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,303,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 570 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned about 1.14% of Stantec worth $104,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Stantec in the 4th quarter worth about $60,382,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Stantec by 38.4% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,178,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,223,000 after purchasing an additional 327,185 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Stantec by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 588,203 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,198,000 after purchasing an additional 320,602 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Stantec by 276.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 332,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,398,000 after purchasing an additional 243,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Stantec in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,499,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on STN shares. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Stantec from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Stantec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Stantec Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:STN traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.22. The company had a trading volume of 82,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,165. Stantec Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.49 and a 12-month high of $87.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.99. The company has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The business services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $912.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $891.12 million. Stantec had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 16.50%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Stantec Inc. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.1548 per share. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.36%.

About Stantec

Stantec Inc provides professional services in the areas of infrastructure and facilities to the public and private sectors in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It offers evaluation, planning, and designing infrastructure solutions; solutions for sustainable water resources, planning, management, and infrastructure; environmental services; integrated architecture, engineering, interior design, and planning solutions for buildings; and energy and resources solutions.