Jennison Associates LLC Increases Stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,992 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,688 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.10% of Stantec worth $9,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of STN. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 166.5% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 22,342,818 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,751,093,000 after acquiring an additional 13,958,790 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Stantec in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $110,221,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in Stantec in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,191,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Stantec by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,344,994 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $262,791,000 after buying an additional 542,305 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Stantec by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,496,408 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $273,970,000 after buying an additional 302,979 shares during the period. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on STN. CIBC reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Stantec presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Stantec Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE STN opened at $112.05 on Monday. Stantec Inc. has a one year low of $73.18 and a one year high of $112.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.78 billion, a PE ratio of 46.30 and a beta of 1.03.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. Stantec had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.1612 per share. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Stantec's payout ratio is 27.27%.

Stantec Profile

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.

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