50,524 Shares in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Purchased by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 50,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,055,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,132,000 after acquiring an additional 6,086 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stantec by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 240,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,343,000 after buying an additional 1,925 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Stantec by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 23,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,000 after buying an additional 1,702 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Stantec in the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in Stantec by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 3,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stantec Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of STN opened at $81.83 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20 and a beta of 1.04. Stantec Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.49 and a 52 week high of $87.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The business services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $912.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $891.12 million. Stantec had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 16.50%. On average, analysts predict that Stantec Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.1548 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Stantec from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.00.

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.