Axa S.A. Sells 5,900 Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

AXA S.A. decreased its position in shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,817 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 5,900 shares during the period. AXA S.A. owned 0.09% of Acuity Brands worth $7,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 161 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Acuity Brands by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 172 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Brands Price Performance

Shares of Acuity Brands stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $256.60. 189,449 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 303,913. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $252.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.10. The company has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.98. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.81 and a 1-year high of $345.30.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.73 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. Acuity Brands's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AYI shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Acuity Brands from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Acuity Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 target price on shares of Acuity Brands in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from 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.