Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Invests $3.85 Million in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 13,977 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,849,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Acuity Brands by 517.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 105 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Acuity Brands during the third quarter worth $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Acuity Brands in the third quarter valued at $35,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Acuity Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

AYI stock traded down $5.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $317.74. 223,642 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 256,264. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $315.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.39. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.38 and a 1-year high of $337.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $4.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.90 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Acuity Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AYI. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Acuity Brands from $266.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $280.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Acuity Brands from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $289.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $315.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $324.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Acuity Brands news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 5,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $1,561,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,573,590. This trade represents a 37.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.