Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 186,879 Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 27.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 506,244 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 186,879 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.44% of Stantec worth $41,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of STN. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Stantec by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 3,650 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stantec by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stantec by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Stantec by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,359 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 63.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stantec Stock Performance

Stantec stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.62. The stock had a trading volume of 148,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,915. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Stantec Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.18 and a 52-week high of $110.17. The company has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a PE ratio of 44.89 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's fifty day moving average is $100.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.66.

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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.1612 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on STN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Stantec 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.