Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 189.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,249 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 4,745 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Acuity Brands were worth $2,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Acuity Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Acuity Brands by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 161 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Acuity Brands Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE AYI traded up $0.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $229.05. 374,219 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 297,274. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $270.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.75. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $216.81 and a 1 year high of $345.30.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.06. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 11.11%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Acuity Brands's payout ratio is currently 5.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AYI. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price target on Acuity Brands in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Acuity Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $317.60.

Acuity Brands Company Profile

Acuity Brands, Inc provides lighting, lighting controls, building management system, location-aware applications in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL); and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG). The ABL segment provides commercial, architectural, and specialty lighting solutions, as well as lighting controls and components for various indoor and outdoor applications under the A-Light, Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Cyclone, Dark to Light, eldoLED, Eureka, Gotham, Healthcare Lighting, Holophane, Hydrel, Indy, IOTA, Juno, Lithonia Lighting, Luminaire LED, Luminis, Mark Architectural Lighting, nLight, OPTOTRONIC, Peerless, RELOCWiring Solutions, and Sensor Switch.