Algert Global LLC Sells 3,750 Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Algert Global LLC lessened its stake in shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 48.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,061 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 3,750 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC’s holdings in Acuity Brands were worth $1,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Acuity Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Acuity Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Acuity Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Acuity Brands by 4,214.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 302 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Acuity Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $320.16 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $306.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $268.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.40. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.93 and a twelve month high of $337.99.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $4.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $0.40. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.49%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.51 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 5,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,573,590. The trade was a 37.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

About Acuity Brands

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.