US Bancorp DE Decreases Stock Position in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

US Bancorp DE cut its holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,657 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 87 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Acuity Brands were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Acuity Brands by 60.2% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 165 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Acuity Brands by 23.6% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 346 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Acuity Brands Stock Up 1.7 %

Acuity Brands stock opened at $175.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.54. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.71 and a 52 week high of $201.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $177.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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, topping 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 period last year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $385,399.41. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,009,429.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Acuity Brands news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,238 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,941,540.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 2,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.31, for a total value of $385,399.41. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,791 shares in the company, valued at $1,009,429.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AYI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Acuity Brands from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Cowen cut their price objective on Acuity Brands from $225.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered Acuity Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Cowen cut their price objective on Acuity Brands from $225.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Acuity Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.00.

About Acuity Brands

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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.