Axa S.A. Boosts Holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

AXA S.A. raised its position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,211 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,890 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A. owned approximately 0.11% of Stantec worth $9,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STN. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Stantec by 632.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Stantec by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,739 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Natixis raised its holdings in Stantec by 114.8% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 1,781 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Stantec by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,359 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Stantec during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on STN. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James raised shares of Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Performance

Shares of Stantec stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $94.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 135,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,826. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $85.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.35. The firm has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a PE ratio of 42.84 and a beta of 0.98. Stantec Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.18 and a fifty-two week high of $94.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.1574 dividend. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Stantec's payout ratio is presently 26.61%.

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.