Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Acquires New Position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 27,465 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,153,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Stantec by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 580,736 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,559,000 after buying an additional 39,671 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Stantec by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 407,626 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,965,000 after purchasing an additional 45,900 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Stantec by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,739 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Stantec by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 263,845 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,699,000 after purchasing an additional 30,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Stantec by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,001 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,493,000 after purchasing an additional 13,107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Stantec Stock Performance

STN stock traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $102.70. 224,778 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 145,180. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 46.68 and a beta of 0.98. Stantec Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.18 and a 1-year high of $104.49.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. Stantec had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The firm 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.1612 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Stantec's payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James upgraded Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy".

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.