Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 21,400 Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 328,180 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 21,400 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.29% of Stantec worth $27,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Stantec by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 3,650 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Stantec by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Stantec by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Stantec by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,359 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Stantec by 37.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 874 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stantec Stock Performance

STN traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.98. The company had a trading volume of 91,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,700. 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 stock has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of 45.45 and a beta of 1.03. Stantec Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.18 and a 12-month high of $110.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $102.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.52.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last released its 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. Stantec had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is a positive change from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec's payout ratio is 27.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on STN. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stantec currently has an average rating of "Buy".

Stantec Company 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.