Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Purchases 3,866 Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,609 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 3,866 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.28% of Acuity Brands worth $25,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in Acuity Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,849,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Acuity Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,703,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 12.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 7,642 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,119 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

Acuity Brands stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $229.01. The stock had a trading volume of 382,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,792. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $345.30. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $272.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.28.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.06. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 19.98%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. Acuity Brands's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair raised Acuity Brands from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 target price on shares of Acuity Brands in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Acuity Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $317.60.

Acuity Brands 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.