Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Shares Sold by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Neuberger Berman Group LLC trimmed its position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 22.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,378 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Stantec were worth $1,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Stantec by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,575,078 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $358,951,000 after purchasing an additional 74,976 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in 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 period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised 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 worth $155,433,000 after buying an additional 207,470 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Stantec by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,774,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $139,230,000 after acquiring an additional 14,332 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 1.8% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 25,999 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Raymond James raised shares of Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Stantec Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of STN stock opened at $85.31 on Friday. Stantec Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.18 and a twelve month high of $90.24. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.78 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.43 and a 200 day moving average of $81.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.1574 per share. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. This is a positive change from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Stantec’s payout ratio is 26.61%.

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.