Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 8,493 Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 42.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,568 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,493 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Stantec were worth $2,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in STN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Stantec by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,575,078 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $358,951,000 after acquiring an additional 74,976 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Stantec by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,496,408 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $273,970,000 after buying an additional 302,979 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Stantec by 19.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Stantec by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,983,637 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $155,433,000 after buying an additional 207,470 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Stantec by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,774,759 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $139,230,000 after buying an additional 14,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on STN. Raymond James upgraded Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE STN traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.76. 340,542 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 142,563. Stantec Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.18 and a twelve month high of $103.29. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.25 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.13.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Stantec had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 16.57%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.1612 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Stantec's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

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.