Barclays PLC Increases Stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 35.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,931 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,930 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC's holdings in Stantec were worth $3,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STN. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Stantec by 78.4% in the 4th 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. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Stantec by 11.2% in the 4th 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. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Stantec in the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new position in Stantec in the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. bought a new position in Stantec in the 4th quarter worth $275,000. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James raised shares of Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:STN traded up $2.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $89.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 174,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,789. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.98 and a 200-day moving average of $81.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.90 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Stantec Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.18 and a 12-month high of $90.26.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.1574 per share. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Stantec's dividend payout ratio is 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.