Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 555,150 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.49% of Stantec worth $43,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $358,951,000 after buying an additional 74,976 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 302,979 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 11.7% in 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. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Stantec by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,774,759 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $139,230,000 after purchasing an additional 14,332 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Stantec by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,479,729 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $116,207,000 after purchasing an additional 25,999 shares in the last quarter. 63.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stantec Price Performance

NYSE STN traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $87.23. The company had a trading volume of 70,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,426. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.65 and a beta of 1.00. Stantec Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.18 and a 52 week high of $90.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.77.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.1574 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James upgraded shares of Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.