Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Acquires 4,065 Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,860 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,065 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Acuity Brands were worth $5,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ellevest Inc. boosted its stake in Acuity Brands by 52.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 197 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 121.2% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 365 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 2,926.7% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 454 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $87,000. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy purchased 632 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $158.05 per share, for a total transaction of $99,887.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $333,643.55. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Acuity Brands from $193.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Acuity Brands from $192.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. StockNews.com started coverage on Acuity Brands in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Acuity Brands from $180.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Acuity Brands in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.88.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

AYI stock opened at $157.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.87. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.71 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.57.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 4th. The electronics maker reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.51. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 22.20% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business had revenue of $943.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.99 million. Analysts predict that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 14th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.56%.

Acuity Brands Company 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.