Toronto Dominion Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Toronto Dominion Bank trimmed its holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 367,835 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,284 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned about 0.32% of Stantec worth $28,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in STN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Stantec by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,575,078 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $358,951,000 after buying an additional 74,976 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Stantec by 9.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 302,979 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Stantec by 19.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 542,305 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Stantec by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,008,962 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $236,055,000 after acquiring an additional 261,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Stantec by 11.7% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 207,470 shares during the period. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James upgraded Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy".

Stantec Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE STN traded up $0.55 on Thursday, reaching $100.78. The stock had a trading volume of 245,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,071. Stantec Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.18 and a 12-month high of $103.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.81 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Stantec had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 4.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.1612 dividend. This is a positive change from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Stantec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.62%.

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.