Raymond James & Associates Grows Holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,255 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Acuity Brands were worth $3,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 60.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 165 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 346 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,224 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 36,022 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,549,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, QV Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 2,532 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AYI shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Cowen cut their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $225.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 5th. Cowen cut their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $225.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $188.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Acuity Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.00.

Insider Activity at Acuity Brands

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,238 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.51, for a total value of $739,573.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,941,540.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,238 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.51, for a total value of $739,573.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,941,540.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 2,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.31, for a total value of $385,399.41. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,009,429.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $175.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $177.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.71 and a 12 month high of $201.56.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 9th. The electronics maker reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $997.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $984.46 million. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 21.40% and a net margin of 9.11%. Acuity Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Profile

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Acuity Brands, Inc operates as an industrial technology company, which engages in the provision of lighting and building management solutions and services. It operates through the Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls and Intelligent Spaces Group segments. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.