Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. Cuts Holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lowered its stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,057 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,507 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. owned 0.05% of Stantec worth $4,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Stantec by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,739 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Stantec by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,359 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Stantec in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new position in Stantec in the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new position in Stantec during the fourth quarter valued at $275,000. 63.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stantec Stock Up 1.3 %

STN stock traded up $1.17 on Thursday, reaching $87.77. 82,125 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 136,689. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.77. 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 company has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.89 and a beta of 1.00. Stantec Inc. has a one year low of $73.18 and a one year high of $90.24.

Stantec Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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