The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,344,994 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 542,305 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 2.93% of Stantec worth $262,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stantec by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,575,078 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $358,951,000 after acquiring an additional 74,976 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Stantec by 11.7% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 207,470 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Stantec by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,774,759 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $139,230,000 after buying an additional 14,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Stantec by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,479,729 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $116,207,000 after purchasing an additional 25,999 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Stantec Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of STN stock traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $89.98. The stock had a trading volume of 174,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm's 50-day moving average is $84.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.90 and a beta of 1.00. Stantec Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.18 and a 12-month high of $90.26.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.1574 per share. This is a positive change from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Stantec's payout ratio is presently 26.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James raised shares of Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.