Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 11,179 Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 25.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,573 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,179 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Stantec were worth $4,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Stantec by 1.7% in 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 buying an additional 74,976 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Stantec by 11.7% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 207,470 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 14,332 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Stantec in the fourth quarter worth $110,221,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Stantec by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 981,515 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $76,968,000 after purchasing an additional 48,972 shares during the period. 63.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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 stock has an average rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Performance

Stantec stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $86.37. The stock had a trading volume of 55,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,042. Stantec Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.18 and a 1 year high of $90.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock's 50 day moving average is $81.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.52. The stock has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.26 and a beta of 1.00.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.1574 per share. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.61%.

Stantec Company 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.