8,186 Shares in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Bought by Centiva Capital LP

Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,186 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,391,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Acuity Brands by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 911 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Acuity Brands by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 951 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. grew its stake in Acuity Brands by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 1,896 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Brands Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $250.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.81 and a 1-year high of $345.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $253.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $295.01.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.06. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 11.11%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. Acuity Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Acuity Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 target price on shares of Acuity Brands in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $317.60.

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.

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