Vontobel Holding Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 27.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 506,244 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 186,879 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned about 0.44% of Stantec worth $41,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Stantec by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 580,736 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $45,559,000 after purchasing an additional 39,671 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Stantec by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 407,626 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,965,000 after purchasing an additional 45,900 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake 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 valued at $20,699,000 after purchasing an additional 30,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Stantec by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,679 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,858,000 after buying an additional 12,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:STN traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $110.07. 99,038 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 150,026. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of 45.48 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $101.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.05. Stantec Inc. has a one year low of $73.18 and a one year high of $110.39.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Equities analysts predict that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.1612 per share. 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 boost from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.27%.

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.