Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 108.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,530 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,039 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp's holdings in Stantec were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stantec by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,575,078 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $358,951,000 after acquiring an additional 74,976 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted 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 purchasing an additional 302,979 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 542,305 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Stantec by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,983,637 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $155,433,000 after buying an additional 207,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Stantec by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,774,759 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $139,230,000 after buying an additional 14,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Stantec Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:STN traded down $0.91 on Friday, reaching $102.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 224,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,793. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Stantec Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.18 and a 52-week high of $107.55. The stock's 50-day moving average is $90.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.68 and a beta of 0.98.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.02. Stantec had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 4.78%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.1612 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Stantec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

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.